Machado dedicates Nobel Peace Prize to Trump
Published: 11 October 2025, 5:42:41
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, who won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, has dedicated the award to US President Donald Trump and the people of Venezuela.
The Nobel Committee announced her as the laureate on Friday, recognizing her “tireless efforts to uphold the democratic rights of the Venezuelan people and her struggle for a just and peaceful transition from authoritarianism to democracy.”
In a post on X, Machado wrote, “I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Donald Trump for his steadfast support of our movement.”
She added, “We are now on the verge of victory. We rely more than ever on President Trump, the American people, Latin American nations, and the world’s democratic countries as key partners in our fight for freedom and democracy.”
White House Press Secretary Caroline Levitt later reshared Machado’s post.
Although the Trump administration had earlier criticized the Nobel Committee’s decision, Trump himself said he had spoken to Machado after the announcement. “She told me she accepted the award in my honor because she thought I actually deserved it,” Trump recounted jokingly. “I didn’t say, ‘Then give it to me,’ but maybe she would have—I think she’s wonderful.”
Machado, 58, has been in hiding for a year. Barred from running in the election, she campaigned for former diplomat Edmundo González Urrutia, whom much of the international community recognizes as the rightful winner. President Nicolás Maduro is accused of rigging the vote to stay in power.
