Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for promoting democratic rights in her country and her struggle to achieve a transition to democracy, the Norwegian Nobel Committee said.
Machado, a 58-year-old industrial engineer who lives in hiding, was blocked in 2024 by Venezuela's courts from running for president and thus challenging President Nicolas Maduro, who has been in power since 2013.
"When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognise courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist," it said in its citation.
The committee chose to focus on Venezuela at this time, in a year dominated by US President Donald Trump's repeated public statements that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.
Trump drew significant attention after receiving endorsements from Pakistan, Israel, Cambodia, Armenia, and Azerbaijan.
Ahead of the announcement, experts on the award had said Trump would not win it as he is dismantling the international world order the Nobel committee cherishes.
The Nobel Peace Prize, worth 11 million Swedish crowns, or about $1.2 million, is due to be presented in Oslo on December 10, the anniversary of the death of Swedish industrialist Alfred Nobel, who founded the awards in his 1895 will.