Nobel Peace Prize goes to Venezuelan dissident María Machado: 'Democracy is in retreat'

LONDON -- The Nobel Peace Prize was awarded Friday to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado for her work "promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela" and her push to move the country from dictatorship to democracy.

Jorgen Watne Frydens, the Nobel Committee chair, spoke broadly about the advance of authoritarian regimes in the world and retreat of democracy in the announcement.

The Nobel Committee called the Venezuelan politician and industrial engineer who is currently the opposition leader in Venezuela, "a brave and committed champion of peace."

"Machado is receiving the Nobel Peace Prize first and foremost for her efforts to advance democracy in Venezuela," the committee said. "But democracy is also in retreat internationally. Democracy -- understood as the right to freely express one's opinion, to cast one's vote and to be represented in elective government -- is the foundation of peace both within countries and between countries."

Machado's party, Vente Venezuela, opposes President Nicolás Maduro's ruling United Socialist Party, which has held power in the South American nation since 2007. Maduro has been president since 2013.

"María Corina Machado has led the struggle for democracy in the face of ever-expanding authoritarianism in Venezuela. Ms Machado studied engineering and finance, and had a short career in business," the Nobel Committee said.

Machado responded to the announcement with a statement posted on X in both Spanish and English, where she urged world leaders, including President Donald Trump, to fight for freedom.

"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 peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our principal allies to achieve Freedom and democracy."

Machado recognized Trump, who has been vocal against the Venezuelan leadership, a second time in her statement.

"I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause," she said.

In 1992, Machado established the Atenea Foundation, which works to benefit street children in Caracas and, 10 years later, she was one of the founders of Súmate, a group that works to promote free and fair elections and has conducted training and election monitoring. In 2010, Machado was elected to the National Assembly and won a record number of votes.

"The regime expelled her from office in 2014," the Nobel Committee said. "Ms Machado leads the Vente Venezuela opposition party and in 2017 helped found the Soy Venezuela alliance, which unites pro-democracy forces in the country across political dividing lines."

The announcement was made on Friday morning, but the actual award ceremony will take place on Dec. 10, in Oslo, Norway.

Trump and his allies have been pushing for him to win the peace prize. White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung on Friday slammed the committee for its decision.

"He has the heart of a humanitarian, and there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with the sheer force of his will," Cheung said in an X post.

"The Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace," Cheung added.

Frydens, the Nobel Committee chair, was asked about Trump's "campaign" for the prize, but denied it had any impact on the decision-making process.

"We receive thousands and thousands of letters every year of people wanting to say what, for them, leads to peace," Frydens said. "This committee sits in a room filled with the portraits of all laureates and that room is filled with both courage and integrity. We base only our decision on the work and the will of Alfred Nobel."

In its statement, the Nobel Committee highlighted how 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 challenging norms and resorting to violence," the group said.

They noted that the Venezuelan regime's "rigid hold on power and its repression of the population are not unique in the world."

"We see the same trends globally: rule of law abused by those in control, free media silenced, critics imprisoned, and societies pushed towards authoritarian rule and militarisation," they said. "In 2024, more elections were held than ever before, but fewer and fewer are free and fair."

The committee noted that Machado "meets all three criteria stated in Alfred Nobel's will for the selection of a Peace Prize laureate."

"She has brought her country's opposition together. She has never wavered in resisting the militarisation of Venezuelan society. She has been steadfast in her support for a peaceful transition to democracy," they said.

"[She] has shown that the tools of democracy are also the tools of peace. She embodies the hope of a different future, one where the fundamental rights of citizens are protected, and their voices are heard. In this future, people will finally be free to live in peace," they added.

Last year, Nihon Hidankyo, a Japanese anti-nuclear weapons group, won the Nobel Peace Prize for their work toward the abolition of nuclear weapons.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said that the testimony of the Hibakusha, who are the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, is unique in this larger context and that their perspective helps to "generate and consolidate widespread opposition to nuclear weapons around the world by drawing on personal stories, creating educational campaigns based on their own experience, and issuing urgent warnings against the spread and use of nuclear weapons."

There were 338 candidates nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for 2025, of which 244 were individuals and 94 were organizations. This is a significant increase from last year when there were 286 nominees. The highest number of nominees to date was in 2016 when there were 376 candidates.

The list of nominees for the Nobel Peace Prize is released 50 years after the prize is awarded, in accordance with the statutes of the Nobel Foundation.

ABC News' Lauren Peller and Ivan Pereira contributed to this report.