Nobel Peace Prize 2025 winner: See María Corina Machado’s inspiring journey in pictures

Lauded as a unifying force in Venezuela’s opposition, championing free and fair elections

Last updated: October 10, 2025 | 13:41

2 MIN READ

Opposition activist María Corina Machado of Venezuela won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday. The former opposition presidential candidate in Venezuela was lauded for being a "key, unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided - an opposition that found common ground in the demand for free elections and representative government," said Jørgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel committee. Above, María Corina Machado arrives at a Caracas polling station on July 28, 2024.

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In the past year, Miss Machado has been forced to live in hiding. Despite serious threats against her life, she has remained in the country, a choice that has inspired millions. Above, Maria Corina Machado waves a national flag during a protest called by the opposition on the eve of the presidential inauguration, in Caracas on January 9, 2025.

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Venezuelan opposition candidate María Corina Machado greets a supporter as she arrives to vote during parliamentary elections in Caracas on Sept. 26, 2010.

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File: Former congresswoman and opposition leader María Corina Machado holds up the Venezuelan flag outside the Attorney General’s Office in Caracas, Venezuela, on Dec. 3, 2014.

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Maria Corina Machado (C) arrives at the National Electoral Council (CNE) in Los Teques, Venezuela on August 3, 2015.

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Maria Corina Machado (R) greets supporters during a campaign rally for Venezuelan presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, in Barinas, Venezuela, on July 6, 2024.

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Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado addresses supporters at a protest against President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, Jan. 9, 2025, the day before his inauguration for a third term.

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

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Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado embraces children during a rally in Caracas on Aug. 28, 2024, as supporters protest a month after President Nicolás Maduro’s disputed re-election.

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