Payam Javan: Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has been awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her unwavering defense of freedom and democracy under Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian regime. The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised Machado as “a key, unifying figure in a once-divided opposition,” noting her courage in remaining in Venezuela despite constant threats and persecution. Committee Chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes emphasized that recognizing such figures is vital when “authoritarians seize power.”

Machado, 58, was barred from running against Maduro in last year’s presidential election, prompting her ally Edmundo González to step in. Despite widespread repression, mass arrests, and human rights abuses, the opposition movement she led continued to inspire millions of Venezuelans calling for free and fair elections. After the disputed vote, in which the Maduro-controlled National Electoral Council declared the incumbent the winner, protests erupted nationwide, resulting in over 20 deaths and a collapse in diplomatic relations with several countries.

Following the election, Machado went into hiding to evade government persecution, while González fled to Spain, where he has since been granted asylum. In exile, he called Machado’s Nobel Prize “a well-deserved recognition for the long fight of a woman and of a whole people for freedom and democracy.” Both leaders had previously received the European Union’s Sakharov Prize for human rights advocacy.

Machado’s recognition makes her the 20th woman among 112 laureates to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. The award underscores growing international concern over Venezuela’s deteriorating democracy and highlights the courage of individuals standing against tyranny. The Nobel Peace Prize, awarded in Oslo, remains one of the world’s most powerful symbols of resistance to oppression and the defense of human liberty.