Nobel winner dedicates peace prize to Donald Trump for ‘decisive support’

Theo Zenou from the Henry Jackson Society responds to the choice for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize, and also the chances of Donald Trump winning it next year.

OSLO, Norway — Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her struggle to achieve a democratic transition in the South American nation, winning recognition as a woman “who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness.”

The former opposition presidential candidate is a “key, unifying figure” in the once deeply divided opposition to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s government, said Jorgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel committee.

“In the past year, Ms. Machado has been forced to live in hiding,” Watne Frydnes said. “Despite serious threats against her life, she has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions. When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist.”

Machado says she’s humbled and grateful

“This is something that the Venezuelan people deserve,” Machado said in a call with the Norwegian Nobel Institute. “I am just part of a huge movement. ... I’m humbled, I’m grateful and I’m honored not only by this recognition, but I’m honored to be part of what’s going on in Venezuela today.”

“I believe that we are very close to achieving, finally, freedom for our country and peace for the region,” she said, adding that “even though we face the most brutal violence, our society has resisted” and insisted on struggling by peaceful means. “I believe that the world will now understand how urgent it is to finally, you know, succeed.”

Crackdown on dissent

Maduro’s government has routinely targeted its real or perceived opponents.

Machado, who turned 58 this week, was set to run against Maduro in last year’s presidential election, but the government disqualified her. Edmundo Gonzalez, who had never run for office before, took her place. The lead-up to the election saw widespread repression, including disqualifications, arrests and human rights violations.

The crackdown on dissent only increased after the country’s National Electoral Council, which is stacked with Maduro loyalists, declared him the winner despite credible evidence to the contrary.

The election results announced by the Electoral Council sparked protests across the country to which the government responded with force that ended with more than 20 people dead. They also prompted an end to diplomatic relations between Venezuela and various foreign countries, including Argentina.

Machado went into hiding and has not been seen in public since January. A Venezuelan court issued an arrest warrant for Gonzalez over the publication of election results. Spain granted him asylum.

More than 800 people are in prison in Venezuela for political reasons, including Gonzalez’s son-in-law, Rafael Tudares, according to the human rights advocacy group Foro Penal.

Dozens of those prisoners participated in Machado’s efforts last year. Some of her closest collaborators, including her campaign manager, avoided prison by sheltering for more than a year at a diplomatic compound in Caracas. They remained there until May, when they fled to the U.S.

Early Friday in Caracas, some people heading to work expressed disbelief at the news of Machado’s win.

“I don’t know what can be done to improve the situation, but she deserves it,” said Sandra Martinez, 32, as she waited at a bus stop. “She’s a great woman.”

There was no immediate reaction from Maduro’s government.

Venezuela’s ambassador to the United Nations, Samuel Moncada, said he didn’t know the government’s reaction but that he believes Machado doesn’t deserve the prize. “She has the same credentials for the Nobel of physics than for the peace Nobel,” he said.

Support for Machado and the opposition in general has decreased since the July 2024 election -- particularly since January, when Maduro was sworn in for a third six-year term and disappointment set in.

Machado was included in Time magazine’s list of 100 most influential people in April. U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio wrote her entry, in which he described her as “the Venezuelan Iron Lady” and “the personification of resilience, tenacity, and patriotism.”

In August 2024, Rubio, then a U.S. senator, was among eight U.S. lawmakers who signed a letter to the Nobel Committee supporting the nomination of Machado for the prize.

Machado becomes the 20th woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, of the 112 individuals who have been honored.

Speculation about Trump’s Nobel chances

There had been persistent speculation ahead of the announcement about the possibility of the prize going to U.S. President Donald Trump, fueled in part by the president himself and amplified by this week’s approval of his plan for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

Asked about lobbying for and by Trump, Watne Frydnes said: “We receive thousands and thousands of letters every year of people wanting to say what for them leads to peace.

“This committee sits in a room filled with the portraits of all laureates, and that room is filled with both courage and integrity. So we base only our decision on the work and the will of Alfred Nobel.”

White House spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a post on X that “President Trump will continue making peace deals around the world, ending wars, and saving lives.” He added that “the Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace.”

Trump congratulated Machado in a phone call, her campaign manager Magalli Meda confirmed to The Associated Press.

The White House did not comment directly on Machado’s recognition.

Hours after Friday’s announcement, Machado wrote on X that “today, more than ever, we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our principal allies to achieve Freedom and democracy.” She added: “I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!”

The peace prize is the only one of the annual Nobel Prizes to be awarded in Oslo, Norway.

Four of the other prizes — in medicine, in physics, in chemistry and in literature — were awarded in the Swedish capital, Stockholm, earlier in this week. The winner of the prize in economics will be announced Monday.

Garcia Cano reported from Mexico City and Moulson from Berlin. Jorge Rueda contributed from Caracas, Venezuela, and Mike Corder from The Hague, Netherlands.