Meet Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner

Chairman of the Nobel Committee, Jorgen Watne Frydnes, holds a phone displaying a picture of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, the laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize for 2025, at the Nobel Institute in Oslo, Norway October 10, 2025.

María Corina Machado greets supporters during an anti-government protest on January 9, 2025 in Caracas, Venezuela.

María Corina Machado gives a speech during an anti-government protest on January 9, 2025 in Caracas, Venezuela. According to information shared by the Vente Venezuela Party, Machado was intercepted by government forces deployed by president Nicolas Maduro after finishing her participation in the rally.

María Corina Machado (R), stands atop a truck next to the leader of the opposition Encuentro ciudadano party Delsa Solorzano (C) during a protest called by the opposition for election 'victory' to be recognized, in Caracas on August 17, 2024. Machado, who came out of hiding to attend the rally, vowed that anti-government protesters would remain out in force, as she addressed a protest in Caracas against Nicolas Maduro's disputed reelection victory claim.

María Corina Machado signs their national anthem during a rally in Caracas on August 28, 2024. Venezuela's opposition supporters rallied on August 28, a month after the disputed re-election of President Nicolas Maduro, who armored his cabinet with a strongman at the helm of law and order.

María Corina Machado embraces children during a rally in Caracas on August 28, 2024.

María Corina Machado waves a national flag during a rally in Caracas on August 28, 2024.

María Corina Machado waves a Venezuelan flag during a rally in Caracas on August 28, 2024.

María Corina Machado gestures to supporters next to opposition figure Delsa Solorzano during a rally in Caracas on August 28, 2024.

MEPsd give a standing ovation to co-laureate of the 2024 Sakharov human rights prize María Corina Machado (screen) during the award ceremony at the European Parliament in Strasbourg, eastern France, on December 17, 2024.

María Corina Machado (L) and former Deputy of the National Assembly of Venezuela, Juan Pablo Guanipa, hold a banner demanding for the release of all political prisoners during a protest called by the opposition on the eve of the presidential inauguration in Caracas on January 9, 2025. Machado, who emerged from hiding to lead protests against the swearing-in of Nicolas Maduro for a highly controversial third term as president, was arrested after being "violently intercepted upon exiting the rally," according to her security team.

María Corina Machado waves to supporters during an anti-government protest on January 9, 2025 in Caracas, Venezuela.

María Corina Machado and Juan Pablo Guanipa participate during an anti-government protest on January 9, 2025 in Caracas, Venezuela.

María Corina Machado gives a speech during an anti-government protest on January 9, 2025 in Caracas, Venezuela.

Nobel peace laureate Maria Corina Machado greets supporters from a balcony of the Grand Hotel in Oslo, Norway, early on Dec. 11, 2025. Machado arrived in Oslo hours after the Venezuelan opposition leader's award was collected on her behalf by her daughter.

Nobel peace prize laureate Maria Corina Machado laughs as she addresses a press conference at the Grand Hotel in Oslo, Norway, on Dec. 11, 2025. The 58-year-old, who has been in hiding in her home country since June 2024, missed the award of the Nobel Prize in Oslo on December 10. But she waved to supporters from her hotel shortly after arriving during the night. Maria Corina Machado is the lynchpin of opposition to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro's regime, a fearless activist with rock star appeal whose inability to attend her own Nobel prize ceremony underlined the dangers she faces.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado greets supporters outside the White House following a meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, on Jan. 15, 2026.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado waves to supporters as she leaves the White House following a meeting with US President Donald Trump in Washington, DC, on Jan. 15, 2026.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado speaks with US Senate Minority Whip Dick Durbin (L), Democrat from Illinois, as she meets with senators at the US Capitol on Jan. 15, 2026 in Washington, DC. US President Donald Trump met earlier Thursday with Machado, whose pro-democracy movement he has sidelined since toppling her country's leader, and whose Nobel Peace Prize he openly envies.