Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has been awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for what the Norwegian Nobel Committee called her “struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”
Machado, 58, an industrial engineer and a devout Catholic, has long been a symbol of courage for millions of Venezuelans yearning for freedom. Living largely in hiding following “serious threats against her life,” she continued to advocate for justice despite being barred from the 2024 presidential election by President Nicolás Maduro’s government, according to Al Jazeera.
“A Struggle of All Venezuelans”
Reacting to the announcement, Machado called the prize an “immense recognition of the struggle of all Venezuelans.”
“We are on the threshold of victory,” she said on X, adding that she relies on “the peoples of Latin America and the democratic nations of the world” to help bring her country back to freedom and dignity.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised Machado as “one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America,” noting that she became a “key unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided.”
Faith Under Fire
Machado’s decision to remain in Venezuela despite repeated threats, the committee said, has “inspired millions.”
Chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes emphasized that when “authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist.”
For Venezuelan Catholics, Machado’s award carries a deeper meaning. Her perseverance mirrors the Church’s call to defend the dignity of the human person and the freedom to live according to one’s conscience.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) also congratulated Machado, saying the recognition “reflects the clear aspirations of the people of Venezuela for free and fair elections, for civil and political rights and for the rule of law,” according to Al Jazeera.
A Beacon of Hope
Machado’s activism gained momentum after the disputed 2024 election, when the opposition alleged widespread fraud and claimed its candidate, Edmundo González Urrutia, was the true winner. Protests erupted nationwide, met with violent repression by Maduro’s forces.
In the face of persecution, Machado urged peaceful resistance—echoing the Christian principle that true freedom is rooted not in vengeance, but in moral courage and truth.
Her story is now being compared to that of past Nobel laureates who embodied peaceful resistance, including Saint Teresa of Calcutta (1979) and Malala Yousafzai (2014). Like them, Machado’s faith and steadfastness stand as reminders that even in darkness, the human spirit, guided by conscience and conviction, can change history.
The Prize and Its Meaning
The Nobel Peace Prize, worth 11 million Swedish kronor (about $1.2 million), will be presented in Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of Alfred Nobel’s death.
In recent years, the prize has honored those who “stood up to repression, carried the hope of freedom in prison cells, and shown that peaceful resistance can change the world,” the Nobel Committee said in its statement, as reported by Al Jazeera.
For Venezuela’s faithful, Machado’s courage, and the global recognition it has now received, may serve as a call to prayer and perseverance: that a nation long suffering under oppression may one day rise again in truth and peace.
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