Nobel Peace Prize Goes to Venezuela Opposition Leader Machado

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for fighting for democracy at a time when political freedom is increasingly at risk from the rise of authoritarian regimes.

Machado, 58, has worked to unite forces resisting the South American country’s strongman President Nicolas Maduro. Blocked from running in the 2024 presidential election, she has been forced to live in hiding over the past year due to threats against her life.

Maria Corina Machado

Photographer: Matias Delacroix/AP Photo

“When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist,” the Oslo-based Norwegian Nobel Committee said ...