Venezuelan pro-democracy leader wins Peace Prize

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, for fighting for democracy at a time when an increasing number of countries slide into authoritarianism.

- Bloomberg

She receives the prize worth 11 million Swedish kronor ($1.2 million) “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,” the Oslo-based Norwegian Nobel Committee said in a statement Friday.

Machado, 58, “has led the struggle for democracy in the face of ever-expanding authoritarianism in Venezuela,” the committee said. She steers the Vente Venezuela opposition party and has worked to unite pro-democracy forces in the country.

In her life before politics, she studied engineering and finance and had a short career in business before establishing a foundation that helps street children in Caracas. She was blocked from running in the 2024 presidential election, and in the past year has been forced to live in hiding due to threats against her life.