Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said receiving the Nobel Peace Prize was "an achievement of a whole society."
A video shared on social media shows Kristian Berg Harpviken, the director of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, calling Machado on Friday morning to inform her that she had been chosen for the coveted prize. He is visibly emotional while sharing the news during a phone call with Machado before it was announced to the world.
"Oh my God. I have no words. Thank you so much," Machado can be heard saying during 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."
In the video, Harpviken tells Machado she was chosen for her "tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy."
An emotional Machado can be heard saying she was honored, humbled and grateful "on behalf of the Venezuelan people" to receive the award.
"We are not there yet," she said, in reference to bringing democracy to Venezuela. "We are working very hard to achieve it but I am sure we will prevail. This is certainly the biggest recognition to our people that certainly deserve it. So, thank you very much!"
She added that it would take a long time to believe what she had just heard.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado
Jonathan Lanza/NurPhoto via Getty Images
In a subsequent statement on X, Machado said, "This recognition of the struggle of all Venezuelans is a boost to conclude our task: to conquer Freedom."
"We are on the threshold of victory and today, more than ever, we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our principal allies to achieve Freedom and democracy," she added. "I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!"
Venezuela, which has been under an autocratic regime for decades, is currently led by President Nicolas Maduro. His election in 2024 was widely dismissed as non-democratic and his leadership is not recognized by the U.S. and many other nations.
The Trump administration, locked in a tense standoff with Maduro, has accused the Venezuelan president of working with drug smuggling gangs that traffic narcotics into the U.S. Maduro has denied the accusations.
The U.S. has recognized an opposition politician backed by Machado, Senator Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, as the legitimate winner of the 2024 election.
Machado, in the meantime, has remained in hiding in Venezuela since the 2024 election. Rumors have circulated on social media for weeks that she could be sheltering at the U.S. embassy in the capital city of Caracas.
Machado has backed the U.S. military pressure on Maduro's regime as a "necessary measure" toward the "restoration of popular sovereignty in Venezuela."
Kathryn Watson and Tucker Reals contributed to this report.
María Corina Machado wins Nobel Peace Prize
María Corina Machado wins Nobel Peace Prize
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