The Nobel Peace Goes To: Not Trump, But a Venezuelan Activist For Democracy, María Corina Machado

Oct 10, 2025 06:45 PM EDT, Fri

María Corina Machado wins 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, despite Trump campaign

At a time when authoritarians are on the rise, the Venezuelan opposition leaderembodies the hope of a different future,’ the prize committee wrote.

Oct. 10, 2025, 5:45 AM EDT By Erum Salam

María Corina Machado, a Venezuelan politician, has won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, the award’s committee announced Friday. Machado is a democracy advocate and opposition leader who has built a powerful social movement despite the brutal authoritarian tactics of President Nicolás Maduro.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said Machado earned the honor due to “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,” calling Machado “one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times.”

The committee cited Machado’s ability to organize various opposition factions, particularly around last year’s presidential election. Volunteer poll watchers provided tallies showing the Machado-backed candidate had defeated Maduro, who refused to accept those results and is still in power.

“Despite serious threats against her life, she has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions of people,” the committee wrote of Machado, who now lives in hiding.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said Machado earned the honor due to “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.”

Past recipients include Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese organization of atomic bomb survivors, “for its efforts to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons” in 2024; Yasser Arafat, Shimon Peres and Yitzhak Rabin in 1994; Henry Kissinger and Le Duc Tho in 1973; and Martin Luther King Jr. in 1964.

The Nobel Prize, first awarded in 1901, is named for Swedish inventor and entrepreneur Alfred Nobel, who left his fortune to recognize extraordinary contributions to humankind. The prize has six categories: physics, chemistry, physiology or medicine, literature, peace and economic sciences.

Despite his nomination by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu (among others) — and having repeatedly expressed his wish to be recognized for diplomacy — President Donald Trump did not come away the winner. Trump said in September that if he didn’t win for his efforts ending foreign conflicts, “it’ll be a big insult to our country, I will tell you that.” Four U.S. presidents have won the Nobel Peace Prize: Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter and Barack Obama.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.

Erum Salam is a breaking news reporter and producer for MSNBC Digital. She previously was a breaking news reporter for The Guardian.

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