Overview

• Machado dedicated the honor to the Venezuelan people and to President Donald Trump in a post on X.
• White House spokesperson Steven Cheung criticized the decision as putting politics over peace, while European leaders including Friedrich Merz and Ursula von der Leyen offered congratulations.
• The Norwegian Nobel Committee cited her unremitting defense of democratic rights and her effort for a just, peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.
• Machado has been repeatedly repressed, was barred from the 2024 presidential ballot, and has spent lengthy periods in hiding inside Venezuela.
• Committee members indicated the choice was settled earlier in the week, before news of a Gaza breakthrough that Trump cited in seeking the prize, and the January nomination deadline made his inclusion unlikely.