Srinagar: Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has been awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, recognized for her unwavering and nonviolent struggle to restore democracy in Venezuela. The Nobel Committee hailed her as a “brave and committed champion of peace” who has “kept the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness.”
“Democracy is a precondition for lasting peace. However, we live in a world where democracy is in retreat, where more and more authoritarian regimes are resorting to violence,” the Committee said in its announcement.
Machado was chosen “for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.” The Committee noted her consistent rejection of militarisation and her efforts to unite Venezuela’s opposition forces through peaceful means.
The prize citation emphasized that Machado “embodies the hope of a different future, one where the fundamental rights of citizens are protected, and their voices are heard.”
While Machado’s selection drew global praise, former U.S. President Donald Trump was once again passed over for the Peace Prize, despite his persistent and public efforts to persuade the Nobel Committee to recognize his foreign policy record.
Over the past year, Trump has repeatedly asserted that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize, citing his role in the Abraham Accords, the Korean Peninsula thaw, and most recently, his claimed mediation in the India–Pakistan conflict.
Trump has stated that he “stopped a potential war between India and Pakistan within 24 hours” by threatening 100% tariffs on both nations, a claim India has categorically denied, maintaining that no external mediation took place.
In recent speeches, Trump also claimed to have “ended eight wars in nine months”, referencing ceasefires in Gaza and other regions, and lamented that the Nobel Committee “would never give it to me, no matter what I do.” (with inputs from agencies)
