Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado rang in her Nobel Peace Prize victory Friday by dedicating the award to the people of Venezuela fighting for freedom — and President Donald Trump, who has publicly lobbied for the prize for himself.
“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 wrote on X. “I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause.”
Trump has coveted the prize for months, arguing he’s ended conflicts across the globe over the course of his presidency. Several world leaders also endorsed him for the honor after he successfully brokered an apparent ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas earlier this week.
Machado’s win is underscored by a sweeping conflict in Venezuela, where the country has been entangled in a political and humanitarian crisis for years, only worsening under the presidency of Nicolás Maduro.
But for Venezuelan opposition leaders, Trump could be a key bulwark against the Maduro regime. The president has been a vocal critic of Maduro’s presidency, and cut off diplomacy with the country recently. The Trump administration has called for the arrest of Maduro for drug trafficking, offering a $50 million reward this summer for information leading to his arrest.
The administration has continued to carry out strikes on Venezuelan boats in international waters that it says contain “narcoterrorists” responsible for smuggling drugs into the U.S. — a claim Maduro vehemently denies and attacks many former GOP officials fear could be illegal.
Trump reposted Machado’s recognition of him to Truth Social, but didn’t comment on her remarks. White House Communications Director Steven Cheung also took to X on Friday morning to slam the Nobel committee for placing “politics over peace” in their selection.
