The Media Line: Nobel Laureate María Corina Machado Dedicates Peace Prize to President Trump  

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Nobel Laureate María Corina Machado Dedicates Peace Prize to President Trump  

By The Media Line Staff  

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, has dedicated her win to US President Donald Trump for his efforts “around the world for peace.”  

In an interview with BBC Mundo, Machado said she spoke by phone with President Trump shortly after the announcement and expressed “how grateful the Venezuelan people are for what he’s doing, not only in the Americas, but around the world for peace, for freedom, for democracy.” She added that she was “very glad” to personally convey that appreciation, describing the conversation as “deeply meaningful.”  

The Nobel Committee praised the 58-year-old Machado for her “extraordinary courage in the struggle to achieve a peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.” Once Venezuela’s most prominent opposition figure, she has spent years defying President Nicolás Maduro’s authoritarian rule. Barred from running in last year’s elections, she unified fractured opposition and backed up a replacement candidate, Edmundo González, whom observers said won by a wide margin before the government declared Maduro victorious.  

Forced into hiding after repeated threats and a looming arrest order, Machado continued to rally supporters from underground, maintaining what the committee called “a spirit that has inspired millions.” She said the Nobel honor was “like an injection of hope and strength” for Venezuelans, proving that “we are not alone—the democrats around the world share our struggle.”  

President Trump’s 20-point Gaza peace plan, launched in coordination with Israel and several Arab states, includes a ceasefire, humanitarian aid access, and the release of Israeli hostages alongside Palestinian prisoners. It has been hailed internationally as the most significant diplomatic breakthrough since the collapse of earlier ceasefire efforts in March.  

During his presidency, President Trump has emphasized ending conflicts rather than starting new ones, often reminding audiences of what he calls the “seven wars” he helped conclude. While critics have questioned his broader withdrawal from multilateral institutions, President Trump’s aides say his peace-first focus has reshaped the global conversation.  

Machado’s public dedication marked a rare moment of convergence between a Latin American dissident and a US leader often at odds with the international establishment. “The regime in Venezuela is a criminal structure,” she said, urging the world to choke off its illicit funding networks. “When those flows stop—the regime falls. And that’s exactly what we’re seeing, cracks that are getting deeper and deeper.”