Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday 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.”
The Norwegian Nobel Committee called Machado “one of the most extraordinary examples of civilian courage in Latin America in recent times,” describing her as 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.”
According to the committee, the description is “precisely what lies at the heart of democracy: our shared willingness to defend the principles of popular rule, even though we disagree.”
Machado said in a written statement that the award is a “unique impetus that injects energy and confidence into Venezuelans, both inside and outside the country, to complete our task.”
In a separate statement, Machado declared, “This recognition of the struggle of all Venezuelans is a boost to conclude our task: to conquer Freedom.”
“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,” she said. “I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!”
President Donald Trump received Nobel Peace Prize nominations from Israeli leadership, hostage families, congressmen, and Cambodian leadership.
