María Corina Machado, the 2025 winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, dedicated the honor in part to President Donald Trump, who had been loudly campaigning for the award himself.
“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,” wrote Machado Friday on X.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which decides the winner, honored Machado for “her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”
Machado, the 58-year-old leader of the Venezuelan opposition party, was hailed by the committee for standing “up for free and fair elections more than 20 years ago” and speaking out “for judicial independence, human rights and popular representation.”
“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 committee wrote.
