Machado wins Nobel Peace Prize for ‘civilian courage'

Machado, the democracy activist who challenged President Nicolas Maduro in last year's elections, has become a 'unifying' figure in Venezuela, says jury

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The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded on Friday to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who accepted the accolade in hiding in the country described by the Nobel jury as a "brutal" state.

Machado, the democracy activist who challenged President Nicolas Maduro in last year's elections, has become a "unifying" figure in Venezuela, the jury said. She has refused to leave despite threats against her life.

She dedicated her award to the Venezuelan people and to US President Donald Trump, who had coveted it himself, as Washington steps up its pressure on Maduro's government.

"More than ever we count on President Trump," she wrote on X, citing his "decisive support of our cause."

The 58-year-old told Nobel Institute director Kristian Berg Harpvikenshe she was confident the opposition would secure a peaceful transition to democracy in Venezuela.

"I'm sure that we will prevail," she said in the call, which was filmed and posted to X.

Machado, in hiding for the past year, is "one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times," said Nobel Committee chair Jorgen Watne Frydnes.