Following the announcement of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado faced swift criticism from pro-Palestinian activists regarding her associations with war crime-accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and her right-wing ideology.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded Machado the prize on Friday, citing her “tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”
Former U.S. President Donald Trump was also a nominee and has claimed that he is deserving of the prize due to his role in averting multiple wars.
Machado advocates for the privatization of state-owned entities in Venezuela, including the oil company PDVSA, and has supported international sanctions amid the Venezuelan crisis. She has endorsed military intervention aimed at ousting Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
“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 stated.
Criticism emerged quickly from left-leaning activists who expressed discontent over the choice of Machado as the prize winner. Pakistani writer Fatima Butto remarked, “A prize that has ignored Gazan doctors and journalists for the second year in a row is utterly worthless. This is a prize that rewards the foot soldiers of Western imperial politics.”
Al Jazeera journalist Dima Khatib added, “Winner of the Nobel Peace Prize María Corina Machado is not just pro-Israeli, she is pro Likud: she 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.”
Alonso Gurmendi, a human rights fellow at the London School of Economics & Political Science, noted, “María Corina Machado is a strong supporter of Trump in the U.S. and Bolsonaro in Brazil. She sort of has to play a role in the Venezuelan opposition (which frankly lacks good leaders), but I wouldn’t call her an extinguisher of regional antidemocratic darkness.”
Machado won the opposition’s primary election in 2023, drawing large crowds to her rallies. However, a ban on holding public office prevented her from challenging Maduro in the 2024 presidential election, forcing her into hiding. She was briefly detained when she reemerged to attend an opposition rally in January, but international and domestic outcry led to her rapid release.
The announcement of Machado as the Nobel Peace Prize recipient has sparked debates over the political implications of the award and its alignment with global issues.
Tags: Nobel Peace Prize, Maria Corina Machado, Venezuela, pro-Israel leader, criticism
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