Venezuelan Politician María Corina Machado Wins Nobel Peace Prize Over Trump — Here’s Why

Despite the fact that President Donald Trump has been extremely vocal about his interest in winning the Nobel Peace Prize, it was never going to happen in 2025.

The deadline to nominate someone for the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize was Jan. 31, 2025, 11 days after his second inauguration.

Although Trump promised to end the war in Ukraine by that time, his peace efforts in that regard have yet to come to fruition.

In an emotional video shared to Instagram, Kristian Berg Harpviken, Director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, called the 2025 recipient to inform her she had been awarded the coveted prize.

Because the selection process is extremely secretive, Venezuelan politician María Corina Machado was not expecting the call. She was shocked but told Kristian that what she did was part of a movement.

She was not alone in her efforts. What did she do? Here's what we know.

In the official announcement shared on the Nobel Prize Instagram account, María was recognized 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."

Nicolás Maduro, the dictator of Venezuela, came into power in April 2013 and, in January 2025, extended his repressive regime until 2031, per PBS.

María is Venezuela's main opposition leader and has openly spoken about Maduro, stating that he continues to repress and violate human rights and implements practices that constitute state terrorism, reports The Hill.

She does this at great risk to herself. The Norwegian Nobel Committee wrote that María has been a "key, unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided – an opposition that found common ground in the demand for free elections and representative government."

The video shared by the Nobel Prize Instagram is powerful, not only because María is so deserving of the award, but because it's clear the person sharing the news is equally as moved by her actions.

"This is certainly the biggest recognition to our people that certainly deserve it," she said. In response to that, Kristian said, "It's also a recognition of yourself, and what you have done."

President Trump has openly criticized Maduro, going as far as calling his government a "narco-terror cartel," per The New York Times.

In August 2025, the United States began increasing its military presence in Venezuela when the president sent warships to the southern Caribbean. There have been several strikes on small boats that the Trump administration claimed were transporting drugs to the United States.

We have yet to see evidence of that.

The Times reported that while Maduro has outwardly responded with promises to defend himself, he is privately trying to negotiate himself out of a possible conflict.

A source told the outlet that a form of resource diplomacy was attempted.

This includes "normalizing trade and allowing American companies back into Venezuela." Maduro also offered United States gas companies preferential access to Venezuela's oil. These offers were rejected, per The Latin Times.