Machado is the leader of the pro-democracy movement in Venezuela, which is under a dictatorship so brutal she has been forced to live in hiding.
Known as Venezuela’s “Iron Lady,” the 58-year-old Machado has led a massive political movement challenging the country’s authoritarian leaders for over two decades.
First, she challenged former President Hugo Chavez, and now, his successor, President Nicolas Maduro, whose disputed July 2024 reelection was not recognized by the U.S., which instead declared opposition leader Edmundo González, now exiled, as the winner.
For the past several months, the Trump administration has placed pressure on Maduro’s regime, deploying warships to the southern Caribbean and conducting military strikes on drug boats it says originated from Venezuela.
Last week, the White House notified Congress that the U.S. was in a “non-international armed conflict” with drug cartels it has designated as terrorist organizations.
Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for keeping “the flame of democracy burning amidst a growing darkness,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee said in a statement.
A video captured the emotional moment Machado accepted the award in a phone call from Kristian Berg Harpviken, the director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute.
“Oh my God. I have no words. Thank you so much,” Machado said on the call. “I hope you understand this is a movement, this is an achievement for a whole society. I am just one person; I certainly do not deserve this. Oh my God.”
Machado’s defiance has come at a price. She has spent the last year in hiding after Maduro repeatedly threatened to arrest her.
Maduro’s crackdown on dissent escalated, but that didn’t stop her.
“I think it does give me a lot of protection,” said Machado of how receiving the Nobel may have changed her future and her security situation. “But the most important thing, is that it highlights, worldwide, the importance of the struggle of Venezuela.”
She said she told Mr. Trump that he can “be sure that we are a society committed to freedom, that we will prevail.”
