Machado dedicates Nobel Prize to Trump for supporting Venezuelans' cause

Machado dedicates Nobel Prize to Trump for supporting Venezuelans' cause

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on Friday dedicated her 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to the long-suffering people of Venezuela as well as to US President Donald Trump for his “decisive support” to their cause.

 

"I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!," she posted on social media platform X, noting that the award would act as a morale booster to the movement against the dictatorship in the oil-rich South American nation.

 

"This recognition of the struggle of all Venezuelans is a boost to conclude our task: to conquer Freedom," she said.

 

 

"We are on the threshold of victory and today, more than ever, we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the people of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our principal allies to achieve Freedom and democracy. I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!" she wrote in her post.

 

Her hat-tip to Trump follows months of Trump declaring himself uniquely qualified for the Nobel Peace Prize for having ended eight wars since his inauguration to the Presidency.

 

Earlier on Friday, Machado was honoured with the Peace Prize for her efforts to promote democratic rights in Venezuela and her commitment to achieving a peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.

 

"Machado has been a key, unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided – an opposition that found common ground in the demand for free elections and representative government," the Committee said.

 

It further described Venezuela as a "brutal and authoritarian state", plagued by humanitarian and economic crisis, where the opposition has been systematically suppressed by means of election rigging, legal prosecution and imprisonment.

 

Venezuela is currently ruled by President Nicolás Maduro, who grabbed power after Hugo Chávez and is accused of seizing power through suspect elections as recently as 2024.

 

The US, along with many other countries, does not recognized Maduro as president. In fact, it has a bounty of $50 million or information leading to the arrest and/or conviction of Maduro, who is also accused of heading a drug-trafficking cartel.

 

Machado and her fellow protesters have long sought the removal of Maduro and the restoration of democratic elections.

 

Machado's history of protest

 

Trained as an industrial engineer, Machado has been a vocal critic of both Chávez’s government and the incumbent Maduro regime, focusing on corruption, human rights violations, and the promotion of democratic governance.

 

She was the Opposition’s presidential candidate in the 2024 election, but her candidacy was blocked by the government, the Nobel Committee said, adding that she has also been living in hiding for the past year due to "serious threats against her life".

 

Why did she dedicate her award to Trump?

 

In recent months, Trump has intensified his campaign against Maduro's government over Latin American drug cartels. He has labelled Maduro a “narco-terrorist” fugitive and offered a $50 million reward for his capture.

 

According to The Guardian, the Trump administration has stationed marines and warships along Venezuela’s Caribbean coast and carried out at least four lethal strikes on suspected drug-smuggling vessels resulting in the deaths of at least 21 people. Maduro, who has termed the US' actions an 'aggression', has said he is ready to impose an emergency across the country.