Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize this Friday, said that the prize is an"impulse" to "conquer freedom" and noted that "today more than ever" she has the support of President Donald Trump, who deployed warships in the Caribbean.
"This immense recognition of the struggle of all Venezuelans is an impetus to complete our task: conquering Freedom. We are on the threshold of victory and today more than ever we count on President Trump," he said in a message on X."Venezuela will be free!" he added.
This immense recognition of the struggle of all Venezuelans is an impetus to complete our task: to conquer Freedom.
— María Corina Machado (@MariaCorinaYA) October 10, 2025
We are on the threshold of victory and today more than ever we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the people of America…
The opposition leader has supported the deployment of US warships in the southern Caribbean, which President Nicolás Maduro considers a"threat."
In another message in English, the Venezuelan opposition leader posted that"I dedicate this award to the long-suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his determined support of our cause!"
This recognition of the struggle of all Venezuelans is a boost to conclude our task: to conquer Freedom.
— María Corina Machado (@MariaCorinaYA) October 10, 2025
We are on the threshold of victory and today, more than ever, we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the people of Latin America, and the democracy…
US Presidential advisor and White House Communications Director Steven Cheung accused the Nobel Committee of putting"politics before peace" by not awarding the prize to the president.
"The Nobel Committee has shown that they put politics before peace," he wrote in a message on X after learning that the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado.
In a call with the committee secretary when it was still dark in Venezuela, the leader appeared stunned and excited to hear the news."Oh my God," she said according to the video posted on the Nobel X account.
"I'm sure we will win. This is certainly the greatest recognition for our people, who truly deserve it," Machado stated.
The leader, who has already won three major international prizes—the Nobel, Sakharov, and Vaclav Havel—has been living in hiding since Nicolás Maduro's reelection in the July 2024 presidential elections, denounced as fraudulent by the opposition.
Nobel Peace Prize to Machado,"for his struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy."
Machado was honored "for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela, and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy," announced the president of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, Jørgen Watne Frydnes.
"It is one of the most extraordinary examples of civic courage in Latin America in recent times," the Committee's president emphasized.
According to him, María Corina Machado has established herself as"a key unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided," and which now demands "free elections and a representative government."
"Despite facing serious threats to his life, he has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions," added the committee chairman, who estimated that Venezuela"has evolved from a prosperous and relatively democratic country to a brutal and authoritarian state."
