10 October 19:15
The Nobel Peace Prize has been awarded to Venezuelan politician Maria Corina Machado, the Norwegian Nobel Committee announced.
The prize was awarded to her “for her tireless fight for democracy and the rights of the people of Venezuela and for her commitment to achieving a just and peaceful transition of the country from dictatorship to democracy,” a committee spokesman said.
He noted her fight for free and fair elections in Venezuela and called her a key unifying figure for an opposition that was once divided but has managed to unite in demanding free elections and representative government.
Machado is 58 years old. She was a member of the National Assembly of Venezuela in 2011-2014, participated in the 2012 presidential elections, and is in opposition to the government of Nicolas Maduro. In 2024 after the presidential elections she called to street protests demanding recognition of the victory of the opposition candidate in the presidential elections, Edmundo González Urrutia. A representative of the Nobel Committee noted that Machado decided not to leave Venezuela, despite threats to her life and freedom, but was forced to hide.
