Overview

• Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader living in hiding after a brief arrest in January and a ban from the 2024 ballot, said she was in shock and called the prize a recognition of an entire movement.
• Norway’s Nobel Committee praised her for defending democratic rights and uniting a once-fractured opposition while advocating a peaceful transition from authoritarian rule.
• European leaders and international bodies offered congratulations, including EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, while the White House criticized the decision as political through communications chief Steven Cheung.
• President Trump phoned Machado to congratulate her, and the Nobel Committee replied to criticism by saying its choices are guided solely by Alfred Nobel’s will and the laureates’ work.
• The award refocuses attention on Venezuela’s disputed 2024 election, subsequent repression, and the exile of opposition figures such as Edmundo González Urrutia, whom supporters claim outpolled Nicolás Maduro.