Venezuelan Opposition Leader Machado Wins Nobel Peace Prize, White House Criticizes Decision

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who has been living in hiding, was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her fight against authoritarianism in her country — a decision that came despite repeated claims by U.S. President Donald Trump that he deserved the honor himself.

Machado, 58, an industrial engineer, was barred by Venezuelan courts in 2024 from running for president and challenging Nicolás Maduro, who has ruled the country since 2013.

“Oh my God… I have no words,” Machado said during a phone call with Christian Berg Harpviken, secretary of the Nobel Committee, which later shared the exchange on social media.

“I’m deeply grateful, but I hope you understand — this is a movement, an achievement of an entire society. I’m just one person. I certainly don’t deserve this alone,” she added.

White House Calls Decision “Political”

Just days after Trump claimed credit for helping broker a truce between Israel and Hamas in Gaza, the White House criticized the Nobel Committee’s decision, calling it political.

“President Trump continues to make peace deals, end wars, and save lives,” White House spokesperson Steven Cheung wrote on X. “The Nobel Committee has made it clear they value politics over peace.”

Maduro, who has presided over a severe economic and social crisis during his 12-year rule, was sworn in for a third term in January following six months of disputed elections, international isolation, and a renewed U.S. bounty for his arrest.

In its citation, the Norwegian Nobel Committee stated, “When authoritarian powers seize control, it is essential to recognize the brave defenders of freedom who stand up and resist.”

Will Machado Attend the Ceremony?

It remains unclear whether Machado will be able to attend the December 10 award ceremony in Oslo.

If she is unable to appear, she will join the ranks of other Nobel Peace Prize laureates prevented from attending, including Andrei Sakharov (1975) of the Soviet Union, Lech Wałęsa (1983) of Poland, and Aung San Suu Kyi (1991) of Myanmar.

Machado is the first Venezuelan and sixth Latin American to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

The UN Human Rights Office welcomed the award, saying it recognized “the Venezuelan people’s clear aspiration for free and fair elections.”

Nobel Committee chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes said he hoped the award would “energize Venezuela’s opposition to continue its work toward a peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”

Juanita Goebertus Estrada, Americas director at Human Rights Watch, said the decision could also increase international pressure on the Maduro government.

U.S. Support and Political Undercurrents

The United States has long been a strong backer of Venezuela’s democratic opposition.

In the run-up to this year’s award, Trump repeatedly asserted that he was the rightful candidate for the Nobel Peace Prize. A vocal critic of Maduro, Trump has also ordered U.S. strikes on vessels allegedly carrying drugs off the Venezuelan coast and suggested targeting drug cartels entering “by land.”

According to a document sent to Congress explaining the legal justification for these attacks, Trump determined that the U.S. is engaged in a “non-international armed conflict” with the cartels.

Nobel Committee Defends Independence

Halvard Leira, research director at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, told Reuters, “The key takeaway is that the committee is once again asserting its independence — showing that it won’t be swayed by populist rhetoric or political pressure.”

He added, “The U.S. has consistently supported Venezuela’s democratic opposition, so it’s hard to interpret this award as a deliberate snub to Trump.”

Gaza Deal Came Too Late for Trump

When asked whether Trump or others could win the prize in the future, Frydnes declined to speculate. “If nominated, they’ll be considered — but only time will tell,” he said. “It’s not our role to tell countries or leaders what to do; our job is to award peace.”

The committee had made its final decision before Trump’s ceasefire and hostage-release deal in Gaza was announced earlier this week as part of the first phase of his proposed peace initiative.

Nobel observers had already deemed Trump’s chances slim, arguing that his policies have often undermined the international order the Nobel Committee seeks to uphold.

The Peace Prize — the fifth Nobel awarded this week following literature, chemistry, physics, and medicine — will be presented on December 10 in Oslo, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.

The prize, worth 11 million Swedish kronor (about $1.2 million), continues Nobel’s 1895 legacy of honoring those who advance the cause of peace.