Brussels 10.10.2025 “The European Parliament European People’s party Group warmly welcomes the news that Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado will receive the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. She had already been awarded the European Parliament’s 2024 Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, following a nomination proposed by the EPP Group”, reads the press release issued for the occassion.

#10Oct | La venezolana María Corina Machado es la ganadora del Premio Nobel de la Paz por su lucha en Venezuela https://t.co/y0iYrDiuul pic.twitter.com/4GzCFmoTaj

— El Nacional (@ElNacionalWeb) October 10, 2025

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Awarding her the Nobel Peace Prize sends a powerful message of support for democracy and freedom, and shines as a beacon of hope for all Venezuelans striving to live in a free and democratic country.

In the past year, #NobelPeacePrize laureate Maria Corina 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… pic.twitter.com/GA3C7asz4Y

— The Nobel Prize (@NobelPrize) October 10, 2025

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“Today, the world recognises what our European Parliament recognized a year ago, when we awarded the Sakharov Prize to María Corina Machado and the democratic forces of Venezuela. We are proud as EPP to have led that effort. And we did it with one thing in our minds: every single Venezuelan, in their country or as a refugee, who still hopes to live in a democratic Venezuela. Today, we honour them”, said Sebastião Bugalho MEP, one of the initiators of Parliament’s award to Machado.

The Nobel Peace Prize for María Corina Machado 🇻🇪@EPPGroup supported her from the very beginning, leading the effort to award her the Sakharov Prize 2024.

Today, the world recognises her courage and tireless fight for a free and democratic Venezuela.https://t.co/oo9MiVJRdu pic.twitter.com/DA0F7E2w9w

— EPP Group (@EPPGroup) October 10, 2025

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“The courage and sacrifice of María Corina are today receiving the recognition they deserve. The peaceful and democratic defence of freedom in Venezuela is being duly acknowledged with the awarding of this prize. What began with the Sakharov Prize continues today with the Nobel Prize. This award should encourage us even more to support María Corina in her struggle to restore freedom and democracy to Venezuela”, added Gabriel Mato Adrover MEP, who also spearheaded her nomination”.

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize for her “tireless work promoting democratic rights”.

The committee described the 58-year-old activist as a “woman who keeps the flame of democracy going, amidst a growing darkness” and commended her for her efforts to “achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy”.

“I’m in shock,” Machado, who has been in hiding since August 2024, said in first public remarks since the announcement.

Machado was barred from running in last year’s presidential elections won by President Nicolás Maduro. The polls were widely dismissed internationally as neither free nor fair.