Venezuelan Opposition Leader María Corina Machado Wins 2025 Nobel Peace Prize

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has been named the laureate of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, the Nobel Committee announced on Friday.

According to the Nobel Committee, Machado received the prize for her “tireless work in promoting the democratic rights of the Venezuelan people and for her struggle for a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”

The committee described her as “one of the most outstanding examples of civic courage in Latin America in recent years.”

Political Background and Exclusion from Venezuela’s Election

In 2024, Machado won the opposition primaries but was barred from running in the presidential election by a ruling from Venezuela’s Supreme Court. Her place was taken by Edmundo González Urrutia, who ultimately lost to incumbent President Nicolás Maduro. The outcome sparked protests across Caracas, with authorities noting that Machado’s influence was a major factor behind the unrest.

Trump Misses Out on Nobel Peace Prize

U.S. President Donald Trump was among the leading contenders for the prize, reportedly considered for his efforts in negotiating a peace agreement in Gaza. However, analysts believe that the closure of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and the introduction of tariffs against several countries weakened his chances.

Trump had reportedly tried to accelerate the signing of the Gaza peace agreement before October 10 in hopes of influencing the Nobel Committee’s decision.

Sources suggest that Trump sought to pressure Norway by threatening to increase import tariffs on Norwegian goods after the decision. Analysts have not ruled out the possibility that Washington could encourage other nations to reduce their purchases of Norwegian energy products or diplomatic engagement with Oslo.

In response, Norwegian Foreign Minister Espen Barth Eide emphasized that the Nobel Committee operates independently of the government and has long-standing experience in maintaining political neutrality.

White House Cracks Down on Nobel Committee

The decision to award the Nobel Peace Prize to the Venezuelan opposition spokeswoman rather than US President Donald Trump speaks of its politicization, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung wrote on X social network.

"The Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace," he wrote.

Russia’s Reaction to the Nobel Peace Prize Outcome

Russia expressed that it would have supported the idea of awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Donald Trump. Presidential aide Yuri Ushakov said, “I think yes, probably, if we had been asked.”

State Duma deputy Anatoly Wasserman also noted that the American president “fully deserves such recognition,” adding that few candidates in recent years have matched Trump’s prominence in the eyes of the Nobel Committee. Wasserman further commented that receiving the prize would have allowed the U.S. president and leading Republican figure to “rub it in the face of the Democrats.”