Venezuela’s Machado Wins Nobel Peace Prize Amid Controversy Over Foreign Intervention Ties

OSLO/CARACAS, October 10  — Venezuelan opposition figure María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, drawing sharp criticism from activists who called the selection a politicised endorsement of regime-change efforts against President Nicolás Maduro government.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee praised Machado’s “unwavering commitment to democratic values,” but omitted reference to her advocacy for U.S.-led sanctions on Venezuela or her historical appeals for foreign military intervention.

In a statement released by Institute for Public Accuracy, David Swanson, executive director of World Beyond War, condemned the decision in an analysis titled Nobel Committee Tried Its Best to Give Trump a Peace Prize, accusing the panel of prioritising anti-Maduro rhetoric over peace building criteria.

Swanson highlighted Machado’s 2018 letter seeking Israeli military support to overthrow Venezuela’s government and two videos showing her urging foreign invasions.

He likened the award to the 2023 peace prize focused on Iran, which preceded intensified Western military actions against Tehran.

The Nobel announcement did not address Machado’s support for privatising state oil firm PDVSA, a policy critics say would enrich foreign investors.

Swanson’s critique noted parallels to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky past remarks about backing Donald Trump for the prize in exchange for escalated weapon supplies, arguing the committee had “replaced peace advocacy with anti-government polemics.”

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said it awarded Venezuelan opposition figure María Corina Machado the 2025 Peace Prize on Friday, citing her “relentless struggle to transition Venezuela from dictatorship to democracy.” The committee praised her advocacy for democratic rights but did not address her alignment with U.S.-backed sanctions.

Machado said she dedicated the prize to “Venezuela’s suffering people” and U.S. President Donald Trump, calling him a “decisive ally” in her quest for “freedom.”

She urged continued support from Trump, Latin American nations, and “democratic states” to secure victory, declaring: “We are on the threshold of triumph.”

South African laureates selections: Albert Luthuli Nobel Prize in 1960, Max Theiler: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1951 Aaron Klug: Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1982 Allan M. Cormack: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1979 Desmond Tutu: Nobel Peace Prize in 1984 Nadine Gordimer: Nobel Prize in Literature in 1991 Nelson Mandela: Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 (co-recipient) F.W. de Klerk: Nobel Peace Prize in 1993 (co-recipient) Sydney Brenner: Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 2002 J. M. Coetzee: Nobel Prize in Literature in 2003.