MARÍA CORINA MACHADO RECEIVES THE 2025 NOBEL PEACE PRIZE. A HISTORIC TURN THAT ALSO SHAKES THE GLOBAL LEADERSHIP LANDSCAPE.

A day marked by contrasts ignited new political tensions inside and outside Venezuela. Between celebrations, criticism and rising expectations, the country once again found itself at the center of the international conversation.

Chavismo marched on Wednesday in Caracas as Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, a recognition the Norwegian Committee described as a direct message to President Nicolás Maduro to accept the results of the 2024 elections and facilitate a democratic transition. The award, received in Oslo by Machado’s daughter due to the opposition leader’s absence for security reasons, was presented by her supporters as a symbolic boost for millions of Venezuelans demanding political change.

The pro-government march, called by United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV) leader Diosdado Cabello, began at two points in western Caracas and moved toward the Miraflores Palace. Cabello dismissed the Nobel as “an auction,” even as the Oslo ceremony continued with direct criticism of the Venezuelan government.

During the ceremony, Nobel Committee Chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes urged Maduro to step down and accept what he described as “the will of the Venezuelan people.” He said the 2024 elections were decisive in selecting Machado as the laureate and accused the government of constructing a “brutal and authoritarian state” sustained by an elite protected by weapons and impunity. “María Corina Machado and the Venezuelan opposition have lit a flame that no torture, lies or fear can extinguish,” he said.

The Committee described Venezuela’s migration crisis now exceeding 8 million citizens displaced as “one of the largest in the world,” and denounced that in the country “innocent people are locked in dark cells, hearing only the screams of the tortured.” Frydnes also mentioned the death of former governor Alfredo Díaz under the custody of the Bolivarian National Intelligence Service (Sebin), which he called “the largest torture chamber in Latin America.”

Machado’s acceptance speech was read by her daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, who said the opposition leader was on her way to Norway after 16 months in hiding. “This is what fuels her fight: thinking of the mothers and children who cannot reunite,” she said. In a message released earlier by the Committee, Machado said she would not arrive in time for the ceremony but expressed gratitude for the recognition “on behalf of the Venezuelan people.”

The Nobel Institute later confirmed that Machado is safe and may participate in upcoming events. Her party, Vente Venezuela, said her absence was due to travel difficulties and the “extreme danger” she has faced since 2024.

Machado, 58, has been one of the most prominent critics of chavismo for more than two decades and has repeatedly denounced political persecution, disqualification orders and detentions within her circle. Despite winning the opposition primaries in 2023, she was barred from the 2024 presidential race under a 15-year ban imposed by the Venezuelan Comptroller’s Office. She then backed Edmundo González Urrutia, but the National Electoral Council proclaimed Maduro’s reelection a result the opposition called fraudulent.

After postelection protests and a surge in arrests, Machado went into hiding. In January 2025, she briefly appeared at an event in Caracas before disappearing again. The government has denied accusations of authoritarianism and claims it is confronting conspiracies and terrorist plots allegedly orchestrated by its opponents.

The Nobel Committee contextualized the award within a global trend of democratic backsliding and noted that regimes such as Cuba, Russia, Iran and China continue to support the Venezuelan government. In his final message, Frydnes addressed Venezuelans directly: “Know that the world is not turning its back on you, and that freedom is approaching.”

For large sectors of the opposition, the award represents unprecedented international backing and a source of momentum for those who continue to denounce electoral irregularities, persecution and civil restrictions. Machado’s allies say the prize is a symbolic validation of the struggle for democracy and a reminder that Venezuela’s political future remains under international scrutiny.