Venezuelan Opposition Leader, Maria Corina Machado Wins 2025 Nobel Peace Prize as Trump Loses Bid
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has been named the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced on Friday, beating US President Donald Trump, who had openly sought the award. Machado was recognized “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,” said Jorgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Nobel Committee in Oslo. The committee described her as “a key, unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided in a brutal authoritarian state now facing a humanitarian and economic crisis.” Despite being forced into hiding over the past year, Machado chose to remain in Venezuela, inspiring millions under serious threats to her life. Trump had repeatedly claimed he deserved the prize for his role in resolving conflicts since returning to the White House for his second term, but Nobel experts in Oslo had dismissed his chances, arguing that his “America First” policies conflict with the Peace Prize’s ideals. Last year, the award went to Japanese anti-nuclear group Nihon Hidankyo, representing survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Nobel Peace Prize includes a gold medal, a diploma, and $1.2 million in prize money. The award will be formally presented in Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death. Unlike the Peace Prize, which is awarded in Oslo, the other Nobel categories are announced in Stockholm. On Thursday, the Literature Prize was awarded to Hungarian author Laszlo Krasznahorkai, renowned for works exploring postmodern dystopia and melancholy. The 2025 Nobel season concludes on Monday with the announcement of the economics prize.
