‘I Dedicate This To Trump’: Nobel Winner Maria Corina Machado Praises US President

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, dedicated the prestigious award to US President Donald Trump on Friday. Machado, who was recognized for her tireless fight for democracy in Venezuela, praised Trump for his “decisive support” of her cause and for standing with the “suffering people” of her nation.

The announcement came shortly after the Norwegian Nobel Committee named Machado the winner, a decision that ended Trump’s own public campaign for the prize. In a post on X, Machado wrote, “This recognition of the struggle of all Venezuelans is a boost to conclude our task: to conquer freedom… I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!”Machado, known as “Venezuela’s Iron Lady,” has been a key unifying figure in the opposition against President Nicolas Maduro’s authoritarian regime.

Despite facing threats and being forced into hiding after a widely contested election last year, she has continued to advocate for a peaceful transition to democracy. Her praise for Trump stems from his administration’s hardline stance against Maduro, whom the US has labeled a “fugitive of American justice” and a “drug cartel leader.”Trump’s administration has halted diplomatic efforts and increased the reward for Maduro’s capture, moves that Machado has publicly supported. “We, Venezuelans, thank President Trump and his administration for their firm and decisive action to dismantle the criminal and terrorist structure that is illegitimately holding onto power in our country,” she had tweeted in August.

While Trump lost out on his bid to join the four other US presidents who have won the coveted award, the choice of Machado aligns with his administration’s foreign policy goals in Latin America. The Nobel Committee, in its citation, commended Machado as a “brave and committed champion of peace” who “keeps the flame of democracy burning during a growing darkness.”