The Nobel Committee shared the information on its official X account.The Nobel Peace Prize 2025 was awarded to María Corina Machado, a Venezuelan politician, founder, former vice president, and former president of the Venezuelan volunteer civic organization Súmate. She served in Venezuela’s National Assembly from 2010 to 2014.The Norwegian Nobel Committee decided to award the prize "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.""In the past year, Ms Machado has been forced to live in hiding. Despite serious threats against her life she has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions of people. When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognise courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist. Democracy depends on people who refuse to stay silent, who dare to step forward despite grave risk, and who remind us that freedom must never be taken for granted, but must always be defended – with words, with courage and with determination. 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 Nobel Committee emphasized.The authoritarian regime in Venezuela makes political work extremely difficult. As the founder of Súmate, an organization promoting democratic development, Machado advocated for free and fair elections more than 20 years ago. As she said, "It was the choice of ballots over bullets." Since then, holding political positions and serving organizations, Ms. Machado has championed judicial independence, human rights, and popular representation. She has worked for years for the freedom of the Venezuelan people.The Nobel Peace Prize is one of six Nobel Prizes established by Swedish industrialist and inventor Alfred Nobel.The Peace Prize is awarded to the person "who shall have done the most or the best work for fraternity between nations, for the abolition or reduction of standing armies and for the holding and promotion of peace congresses."On October 9, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy emphasized that if Donald Trump gives the world a chance for a ceasefire, he should be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.Donald Trump would consider it “a great insult” for the United States if he were not awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.