Oslo, Norway – October 12, 2025 – In a ceremony that blended triumph with turmoil, Venezuelan opposition firebrand María Corina Machado was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, October 10, for her unyielding campaign against President Nicolás Maduro's authoritarian regime. The Norwegian Nobel Committee lauded her as a "champion of peace" and a "key, unifying figure in a political opposition once divided," crediting her with keeping "the flame of democracy burning in Venezuela amid growing darkness." Yet, even as celebrations erupted among Venezuelan exiles and democracy advocates worldwide, the accolade swiftly plunged into controversy. Critics, from human rights groups to international lawmakers, have excoriated Machado for her longstanding support of Israel's military actions in Gaza—labeled by detractors as genocidal—and her explicit appeals for foreign military intervention to topple Maduro. The backlash has transformed what should have been a moment of global unity into a flashpoint for debates on imperialism, selective pacifism, and the weaponization of prestige.
The announcement came at 11:00 a.m. CEST from the Norwegian Nobel Institute in Oslo, capping a week of Nobel reveals amid a world still reeling from conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza, and the Middle East. Committee Chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes, in a measured address, emphasized Machado's alignment with Alfred Nobel's will: fostering brotherhood among nations, abolishing armies, and convening peace congresses. "Despite serious threats against her life, she has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions," Frydnes said, invoking Machado's decision to stay in hiding within Venezuela rather than flee into exile. He portrayed her as "one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times," highlighting her role in mobilizing volunteers to monitor the disputed 2024 presidential election, where opposition candidate Edmundo González—her handpicked surrogate—claimed victory based on independent tallies.
Machado, 58, a former engineer and founder of the center-right Vente Venezuela party, learned of the honor in a clandestine phone call from Nobel Secretary Kristian Berg Harpviken. A video shared by González captured her stunned reaction: "I'm in shock! My God!" Speaking from an undisclosed location in Caracas, she dedicated the prize to "the millions of anonymous Venezuelans risking everything for freedom, justice, and peace" and, controversially, to U.S. President Donald Trump, whom she hailed as a "decisive ally in our cause." This gesture, while cheered by her supporters, amplified accusations that the award serves as a geopolitical cudgel against Maduro's socialist government, which has long accused Machado of being a U.S. puppet.
Born into a prominent Caracas family—descended from Venezuelan independence hero Simón Bolívar's contemporaries—Machiado entered politics in the early 2000s as a fierce critic of Hugo Chávez's Bolivarian Revolution. Elected to the National Assembly in 2010, she was expelled in 2014 for accepting a diplomatic post from Panama to address the Organization of American States (OAS), where she decried Maduro's regime as a "criminal enterprise." Barred from the 2024 race by Venezuela's Supreme Court on corruption charges she dismissed as fabricated, Machado orchestrated a grassroots insurgency: training 800,000 volunteers to collect ballot data showing González's landslide win. Maduro's government, however, certified its own victory, sparking protests that security forces quashed with arrests and violence. The UN Human Rights Office has since corroborated widespread irregularities, bolstering Machado's narrative of electoral theft.
Her Nobel win marks Venezuela's second such honor, following immunologist Baruj Benacerraf's 1980 Medicine Prize, and the sixth for a Latin American. Out of 143 Peace laureates since 1901, she is only the 20th woman, joining icons like Mother Teresa and Malala Yousafzai. Supporters, including U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio—who nominated her last year—praised the decision as a rebuke to global democratic backsliding. "When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist," the committee stated, a phrase some interpreted as a veiled critique of figures like Trump, despite his recent Gaza ceasefire brokering.
Yet, jubilation curdled into outrage within hours. NDTV World led Saturday's coverage with resurfaced social media posts from Machado equating "the struggle of Venezuela" with Israel's fight against "terrorism," dating to 2019. In 2021, she tweeted: "Today, all those who defend Western values stand with the State of Israel; a genuine ally of freedom." Critics seized on these as endorsements of Israel's post-October 7, 2023, Gaza offensive, which Palestinian health authorities report has killed over 67,000 civilians, displaced nearly all 2 million residents, and triggered famine. While Machado condemned Hamas's attack—killing 1,200 Israelis—she has not critiqued Israel's response, instead pledging, if elected, to relocate Venezuela's embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, reversing Chávez's 2009 break in ties over the 2008-2009 Gaza War.
The most incendiary link is her 2020 cooperation pact between Vente Venezuela and Benjamin Netanyahu's Likud party, focusing on "political, ideological, social, strategy, geopolitics, and security" collaboration. Norwegian lawmaker Bjørn Moxnes, leader of the left-wing Red Party, blasted the award as "inconsistent with the Nobel's purpose," arguing it rewards alliance with a "far-right, anti-Muslim, and racist" entity amid Gaza's devastation. The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) echoed this, deeming the selection an "unconscionable decision" that "undermines the Nobel Committee’s reputation." In a statement, CAIR's executive director Nihad Awad urged Machado to "renounce her support for anti-Muslim fascism in Europe and her alliance with Israel’s openly racist Likud Party," citing her virtual address at a 2025 "Patriots for Europe" rally in Madrid alongside figures like Geert Wilders and Marine Le Pen.
Machado's interventionist rhetoric has fueled further ire. In a 2018 open letter to Netanyahu and then-Argentinian President Mauricio Macri, she implored them to leverage "influence and power" to "advance the dismantling of the criminal Venezuelan regime." Speaking to Fox News last month, she backed Trump's Caribbean naval deployments—targeting alleged Maduro-linked drug boats, which have sunk four vessels and killed 21—as essential to "stop the flow of illegal drug income to the regime." In 2019, she argued that only a "real, credible, severe, and imminent threat" of international force could oust Maduro, echoing calls during Trump's first term for potential invasion. Historians like Tulane's David Smilde acknowledge her courage but warn: "Her radicalism—believing military intervention is inevitable—alienates moderates and risks escalation."
From hiding, Machado defended her record in an NPR interview aired Sunday: "You cannot have peace without freedom, and you cannot have freedom without strength. When facing a criminal structure... impunity is over." She sidestepped direct endorsement of U.S. invasion but reiterated Trump's value in recognizing Maduro's "narco-terrorist" threat. Venezuelan state media dismissed the prize as an "international right" ploy, with Maduro dubbing her "La Sayona"—a vengeful folkloric ghost. Pro-government rallies in Caracas branded it a "provocation," while opposition strongholds like Florida's "Little Venezuela" erupted in street parties.
The controversy underscores the Nobel's fraught history. Past laureates like Henry Kissinger (1973) and Barack Obama (2009)—the latter for diplomacy despite seven-country bombings—have drawn similar ire for blending peace rhetoric with realpolitik. Historians note the committee's 338 nominations this year included Gaza aid workers and Ukrainian mediators, yet opted for Machado amid U.S.-Venezuela tensions. Betting markets like Polymarket had favored Trump pre-announcement for his Gaza truce, which paused fighting and freed hostages but critics say merely delayed escalation.
Globally, reactions split along ideological lines. Spanish far-right leader Santiago Abascal hailed her as embodying "absolute courage and hope for millions who believe in liberty," while leftists like France's Jean-Luc Mélenchon called it a "slap to true peacemakers." In Latin America, Brazilian President Lula da Silva offered muted congratulations, mindful of regional solidarity against interventionism. On X (formerly Twitter), #NobelForGaza trended alongside #VivaLaLibertadCarajo, with users from Caracas to Ramallah decrying the award as "blood money."
As Machado weighs attending the December 10 Oslo ceremony—joining laureates like Andrei Sakharov who couldn't due to repression—the prize's 11 million Swedish kronor ($1 million) pales against its symbolic weight. Will it embolden her movement, prompting mass protests as Chatham House's Christopher Sabatini predicts, or entrench divisions? For now, it spotlights a paradox: a peace prize for a woman whose vision of liberation invokes the very forces—sanctions, alliances, threats—that have ravaged her homeland. Venezuela's crisis, with 7.7 million refugees and hyperinflation scars, demands not just defiance but dialogue. Yet in Machado's words, "We will achieve it"—a vow that, for better or worse, now echoes from Oslo to the Orinoco.
