Online Desk
Nobel Peace Prize laureate, Venezuelan opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, on Friday dedicated the award to the “suffering people of Venezuela” and US President Donald Trump.
In her first public reaction to the win, Machado said her compatriots were counting on the United States and President Trump to achieve “freedom and democracy” in Venezuela, which is under the rule of President Nicolas Maduro.
“This immense recognition of the struggle of all Venezuelans is an impetus to conclude our task: to achieve freedom,” she wrote on X.
“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.
Machado’s comments came as the White House on Friday lashed out at the Norwegian Nobel Committee for overlooking President Trump, who had repeatedly insisted that he deserved the Nobel for his role in resolving numerous conflicts — a claim observers say is broadly exaggerated.
“The Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace,” White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung said on X.
“President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives. He has the heart of a humanitarian, and there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with the sheer force of his will.”
Trump restated his claim on the eve of the peace prize announcement, saying that his brokering of the first phase of a ceasefire in Gaza this week was the eighth war he had ended.
According to the Nobel Committee, Maria Corina Machado, the key face of the opposition in Venezuela, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “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.”
“In the past year, Ms 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 of people,” the Nobel committee said in a statement.
However, several activists and journalists were quick to call out Machado’s problematic political stance, including her calls for a military intervention to unseat the Venezuelan President. The activists also slammed the Nobel Committee for overlooking the Gaza genocide and picking a staunch supporter of war crime accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, for the prestigious award.
“Winner of Nobel Peace Prize Maria Corina Machado is not just pro-Israeli, she is pro Likud: signed a cooperation deal in 2020 with Netanyahu’s Likud party. She fully supports Netanyahu’s war on Gaza and would revive cut ties between Israel and Venezuela if she became president,” wrote Al Jazeera journalist and media critic Dima Khatib.
