Nobel Peace Prize Committee Welcomes Machado's Return to Venezuela, Urges Democratic Transition Based on Rights and Free Elections
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said on Tuesday, October 27, that it welcomed the return of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado to Venezuela, hoping her presence would strengthen the democratic opposition and its peaceful campaign for democracy, Reuters reported. Machado, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was greeted by tens of thousands of supporters on Sunday after about 10 months abroad.
"The committee expresses its hope that her return will strengthen the democratic opposition and its peaceful struggle for democracy," the award body said. "Much has changed in recent months, but the task remains urgent: Venezuela still requires a democratic transition founded on fundamental rights, political participation and free elections," the committee added.
Machado made several failed return attempts that strained her ties with U.S. President Donald Trump's administration. She was barred from running against then-President Nicolas Maduro in the 2024 election and left the country after a crackdown on the opposition. The U.S. military captured Maduro in early January, and he was replaced by his former vice president, Delcy Rodriguez.
A few weeks before her return, Machado gave her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump in recognition of what she called his commitment to the freedom of the Venezuelan people. Trump thanked her but has repeatedly said he himself deserved the award. The Nobel Committee said at the time that the prize remains inseparably linked to the laureate, though the medal can be given away.
Source: GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：2025年诺贝尔周期间，María Corina Machado在阳台上向支持者致意（资料图）。照片：Kevin Payravi，CC BY-SA 4.0，经维基共享资源。 / File photo: María Corina Machado greeting supporters from a balcony during Nobel Week 2025. Photo: Kevin Payravi, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons.
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- 2026-10-27Nobel Peace Prize Committee Welcomes Machado's Return to Venezuela, Urges Democratic Transition Based on Rights and Free ElectionsThis story
