Norway: Maria Corina Machado has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize -2025 for her work in promoting democracy and fighting dictatorship in her country. The peace prize is the only one of the annual Nobel prizes to be awarded in Oslo, Norway.

The former opposition presidential candidate was lauded for being a key, unifying figure against the brutal Venezuelan state. The Chairman of Norwegian Nobel Committee Jorgen Watne Frydnes said that Machado was being lauded for being a key, unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided an opposition that found common ground in the demand for free elections and representative government.

Machado has been forced to live in hiding in the past year. Despite serious threats against her life, she has remained in the country a choice that has inspired millions. When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist, he added.

Machado is a key figure in Venezuela’s pro-democracy movement. In recent years, she has emerged as a powerful symbol of civilian courage in Latin America. For decades, Machado has defied the repressive regime of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro. She has faced threats, arrests and political persecution. Machado was set to run against Maduro in the last elections, but the Government disqualified her.

Edmundo Gonzalez, who had never run for office before, took her place. The lead-up to the election saw widespread repression, including disqualifications, arrests and human rights violations. The crackdown on dissent only increased after the country’s National Electoral Council, which is stacked with Maduro loyalists, declared him the winner despite credible evidence to the contrary.

The election results sparked protests across the country, to which the Government responded with force, resulting in the deaths of more than 20 people. They also prompted an end to diplomatic relations between Venezuela and various foreign countries, including Argentina.

Machado went into hiding and has not been seen in public since January. A Venezuelan court issued an arrest warrant for Gonzalez, who moved to Spain and was granted asylum.