DawgTalkers.net Forums DawgTalk Palus Politicus Nobel Peace Prize awarded

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/10/10/maria-machado-nobel-peace-prize-venezuela/

María Corina Machado, Venezuelan opposition leader, wins Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Prize committee recognized María Corina Machado, Venezuelan opposition leader in hiding, for keeping “the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness.”
Updated
October 10, 2025 at 6:32 a.m. EDTtoday at 6:32 a.m. EDT

Opposition leader María Corina Machado at a protest in Caracas, Venezuela, on Aug. 28, 2024. (Ariana Cubillos/AP)
By Steve Hendrix
and
Samantha Schmidt

The Norwegian Nobel Committee on Friday awarded its 2025 Peace Prize to María Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader who has become a symbol of democratic resistance against an increasingly authoritarian regime, even as she has been forced into hiding and barred from holding public office.

The decision, announced in Oslo’s grand City Hall, elevates Machado, known as Venezuela’s “Iron Lady,” from a besieged political figure in her own country to the world stage, joining the ranks of Nelson Mandela, Aung San Suu Kyi and other laureates who have challenged autocratic rule.

Machado’s location remains undisclosed for security reasons, though supporters say she remains in Venezuela despite arrest warrants and government accusations that she has conspired to destabilize the country.
Advertisement
Advertisement

“The Nobel Peace Prize for 2025 goes to a brave and committed champion of peace — to a woman who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness,” the committee said, announcing the award.
🌎



Machado reacted with shock when reached by a representative of the Nobel committee a few minutes before her win was announced. “Oh my God … I have no words,” she said according to a video of the call posted on X by the committee.

The prize was awarded as the Trump administration — a vocal supporter of Machado — has sharply escalated military tensions with Venezuela, attacking at least four boats in the Caribbean, which President Donald Trump has said were carrying drug smugglers in international waters.

The White House, which had been calling for Trump to win the prize, did not immediately congratulate Machado but a spokesman, Steven Cheung, questioned the committee’s motives. “President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives,” Cheung said, adding: “The Nobel Committee proved they place politics over peace.”

Trump has previously described Machado as a “freedom fighter.” He has also declared the United States to be in “armed conflict” with drug cartels that are distributing narcotics in the U.S., according to a notification to Capitol Hill that seeks to give legal cover for taking lethal action against traffickers following the military strikes.
Advertisement

The administration has not provided evidence that narcotics were aboard, and the strikes prompted Venezuela to request an emergency meeting of the U.N. Security Council.

Machado, a fierce and longtime foe of Venezuela’s autocratic president, Nicolás Maduro, swept the primaries ahead of the Venezuelan presidential election in 2024 with more than 92 percent of the vote.

Despite a U.S.-brokered deal for competitive elections in Venezuela, Maduro blocked her from running. Still, in the months leading up to the vote, Machado rallied large crowds across the country to motivate Venezuelans to vote for a stand-in for her, Edmundo González, even as the Maduro government repeatedly harassed and arrested her aides and anyone associated with her campaign.

On July 28, 2024, Venezuelans voted overwhelmingly in favor of González, according to a Washington Post review of more than 23,000 precinct-level tally sheets collected by the opposition and the conclusion of other independent monitors.

Maduro claimed victory in the election and refused to release the precinct-level results. In a remarkable logistical feat led by Machado and her team, the opposition managed to prove their own win — collecting the original receipts from more than 80 percent of voting machines nationwide with the help of thousands of regular Venezuelans stationed at polling sites.
Advertisement
Advertisement

After leaving one chaotic rally shortly before Maduro’s swearing-in, Machado was knocked from her motorcycle and briefly detained by pro-government forces, her campaign said.

In more than a year since that historic vote, Machado has remained in hiding in Venezuela as the driving force of the opposition. The Maduro government has continued to arrest and jail scores of dissidents and her close allies. Machado herself was briefly detained in January as she left a rally in Caracas, a day before Maduro took office for a third term.

An industrial engineer and daughter of a prominent steel businessman whose company was expropriated by then-President Hugo Chávez, Machado is a staunch conservative. She rose to national recognition as a fierce critic of Chávez and once famously challenged him during his annual address to the assembly in 2012, telling him “expropriating is robbing.” Chávez responded dismissively: “Águila no caza mosca” — “the eagle doesn’t hunt the fly.”
María Corina Machado poses for pictures with supporters in Guanare, Venezuela, on July 17, 2024. (Andrea Hernández Briceño/For The Washington Post)

“Democracy is a precondition for lasting peace. However, we live in a world where democracy is in retreat, where more and more authoritarian regimes are challenging norms and resorting to violence,” the Nobel citation stated. “The Venezuelan regime’s rigid hold on power and its repression of the population are not unique in the world. We see the same trends globally: rule of law abused by those in control, free media silenced, critics imprisoned, and societies pushed towards authoritarian rule and militarization. In 2024, more elections were held than ever before, but fewer and fewer are free and fair.”
Advertisement

The committee made its selection against an unusual backdrop: President Trump’s increasingly public campaign to claim the prize for himself, an ambition that in recent days appeared to influence diplomacy in the Middle East. Trump has spoken openly about his desire to win the Nobel Peace Prize but also expressed skepticism that the committee would recognize him.

“No, I won’t get a Nobel Peace Prize no matter what I do — including Russia/Ukraine and Israel/Iran, whatever those outcomes may be,” Trump wrote on Truth Social in June. Trump has cited his role in settling numerous conflicts, at times exaggerating his role or the extent of peace, but in any event has spoken out frequently about his desire to save lives.

Trump’s ambition became a factor in the Gaza ceasefire negotiations that culminated in an agreement reached two days before the peace prize announcement, officials in the region and Washington said.
Machado with supporters in Guanare, Venezuela, on July 17, 2024. (Andrea Hernández Briceño/for The Washington Post)

Several world leaders said they had nominated Trump for the prize. The committee, however, said none had affected its deliberations.

Jorgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee, said the body is accustomed to lobbying campaigns — both organized and grassroots, political and heartfelt — but that it returns to the prize’s founding principles in making its choice.
Advertisement
Advertisement

“This committee sits in a room filled with portraits of our laureates,” Frydnes said Friday addressing the Trump effort. “That room is filled with both courage and integrity. We base our decision only on the work and the will of Alfred Nobel.”

The timing alone made Trump an unlikely candidate for the Gaza ceasefire deal. The Nobel Committee’s nomination deadline was January 31. When this year’s prize was announced, the Gaza agreement was just hours into being implemented and it was far from clear whether its terms would hold even in the short term.

Still, Nobel observers say that if the ceasefire evolves into a lasting peace framework, Trump would be a contender for the 2026 prize. The committee has frequently recognized Middle East peacemakers, from Menachem Begin and Anwar Sadat in 1978 to Yitzhak Rabin, Shimon Peres and Yasser Arafat in 1994. A durable resolution to the Gaza conflict would rank among the most significant diplomatic achievements in recent decades.
Machado on a truck at a rally in Caracas on Aug. 17, 2024. (Federico Parra/AFP/Getty Images)

In its announcement, the committee struck a pointed tone about the global state of democracy, declaring that Machado’s courage mattered especially “in a world where democracy is in retreat.”

That phrase — and the choice itself — will be seen by some as calibrated to send a message not just to Caracas, but to Washington and capitals worldwide where democratic norms have come under strain.
Advertisement

It may also be interpreted as an implicit rebuke to Trump, whose attacks on democratic institutions have alarmed democracy advocates.

Trump’s refusal to accept the 2020 election results, the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol, and his Justice Department’s prosecutions of political opponents have drawn comparisons, however imperfect, to the autocratic playbook Machado opposes.

Hendrix reported from London and Schmidt from Bogotá, Colombia.
Most read World

Then we have the FOX News View of it.

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/no...achado-despite-calls-trump-receive-award

Based on the Criteria used, TRUMP Doesn't qualify...

Sure, stopping wars are a good thing. But lying about which wars you stopped is probably not a way to get the Nobel committee to go along.

And most times, when you say you stopped a war, you kinda have to have the peace be a lasting one in order to get a prize out of it.

All the yelling by MAGA and Fox and Newmax and the like won't get the Nobel committee to move the needle. In fact, most around the world thought it was ABSURD that he'd even be considered at this point.

If things continue to progress in Palestine the way they have the past couple days, and both sides stick to their ends of the bargain in the long-term, then I see no reason why Trump shouldn't win the next one.

There's a long road to travel before that happens but if so I would tend to agree.

Some of the things he says and does are just crazy but that's not what the Nobel Peace Prize is about. Despite how anyone feels about him a lasting peace in that region of the world would be historic.

The problem I see with those promoting that he should win it now is that they are at the very beginning stages of accomplishing that goal.

Maybe they should have read this clip below from the Nobel Committee press release


Democracy is a precondition for lasting peace. However, we live in a world where democracy is in retreat, where more and more authoritarian regimes are challenging norms and resorting to violence. The Venezuelan regime’s rigid hold on power and its repression of the population are not unique in the world. We see the same trends globally: rule of law abused by those in control, free media silenced, critics imprisoned, and societies pushed towards authoritarian rule and militarisation. In 2024, more elections were held than ever before, but fewer and fewer are free and fair.

In its long history, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has honoured brave women and men who have stood up to repression, who have carried the hope of freedom in prison cells, on the streets and in public squares, and who have shown by their actions that peaceful resistance can change the world. 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.

When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognise courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist. Democracy depends on people who refuse to stay silent, who dare to step forward despite grave risk, and who remind us that freedom must never be taken for granted, but must always be defended – with words, with courage and with determination.

Nobel winner dedicates peace prize to people of Venezuela, Trump
https://thehill.com/homenews/5549522-trump-machado-nobel-peace-prize/

j/c...

I'd just like to take a moment to note the dichotomy here.

Obama was given the Nobel Peace prize with zero, zip and nada on the ledger for causing actual peace. The Committee noted things like *didn't want people to nuke each other* and *said people should talk about their differences*. They literally came out and said he deserved the prize because of "hope" and "promise". He was given the prize with zero achievements... just a vision of the future.

NOW, everybody says Trump can't be given the prize unless this is a lasting peace and we won't know that until waaay into the future.

One credited with a fairy-tale vision of what the future may be. The other punished by time that has not yet to pass. 🤣

Here is the reason trump and his MAGA army are throwing a tantrum. It's because they have no idea how any of this works. What they can't seem to figure out is that the list of Nobel Prize candidates at nominated at the end Jan. of each year. Trump was at the very beginning of his term and long before he did any of the things he "claims" he did that makes them think he should have won. Or does he already know this and is just making BS up to enrage his supporters again?


Nomination and selection timeline

January 31: Deadline for all Nobel Prize nominations.
February: The Nobel Committees begin the selection process.
February-September: Committees and their expert advisors evaluate candidates and create a shortlist.
September/October: The final decision is made by the respective Nobel Committees.
October: The Nobel Prize laureates are announced.
December 10: The Nobel Prize award ceremony takes place.

By not knowing any of that the "derp der" crowd is going crazy.

The old "Well he didn't deserve it so we'll give it to someone else who doesn't deserve it" argument. Pretty sure I mentioned Obama receiving the award as being questionable.

Have to point out in Obama's defense - he's not a convicted felon. Not found liable of rape. Not paid porn stars off. . . . Maybe those are factors that people might factor into a decision? IDK. I do know that I said if the peace holds Trump will deserve it no matter he is a P.O.S human being.

Thanks for making my point! I really didn't expect this to be so easy.

Maybe you should quote my post so it sinks into Fate's head how the process actually works. It seems he is swallowing the bait whole.

He spews out what he is told to spew out. Expect no different.

He spews out what he is told to spew out. Expect no different.

You can say that again! Oh wait.

YASS! The MAGAs tell me what to say, I quit thinking for myself years ago. I'm in my echo chamber and could never aspire to spit the deep intellectual, nuanced talking points that you do!

I rarely agree with your posts but this time I do. As with most things there are generally exceptions to every rule.

I agree and at that point, He'd deserve it. Let's face it, Trump wanted the Prize, He wanted it bad. He lied about stopping 7 Wars and then forced this deal in Isreal... All with one purpose in mind, to have something that Obama got.

But again, If he forged a lasting peace in Israel, then he'd deserve it.

I'm betting however, they will take into consideration his actions in his own cities and his treatment of Immigrants.

The fact of the matter is the nomination process for this years Nobel Peace Prize ended on Jan. 31st of this year. Trump was sworn into office on Jan. 20th. He had been president for a grand total of 11 days before the list was complete. He had done nothing that would place him in consideration for the Nobel Prize at that point in time other than continuing to scream that the 2020 election was stolen and incite an insurrection. Neither of which qualifies you to be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize.

But if you can find a bunch of morons that have no idea of the timeline of these nominations you can get them all worked up and once again get them to believe you were cheated out of something. That's trump's specialty. Convincing a bunch of morons that the whole world is out to get them.

Did Obama deserve to win the Nobel Peace Prize?

I don't know. He seemed to bring a calming presence to the world
Is that enough? Maybe that year was like the 2013 NFL draft

Chiefs take Eric Fisher #1 overall
Did he deserve to be the #1 overall pick?
No, but there really wasn't a better choice

Does trump deseerve to win a Nobel Peace Prize?

I don't see anything that he has done to deserve it.
Not even bringing a calming presence.
I would argue that he has increased tensions
The person who won was deserving.

So what you're essentially saying is because a mistake was made before that it should be made again?

Uhhh... NO.

I don't even know how you arrived at that conclusion. I never even said he should get the prize, just pointed out the hypocrisy. So, how would I be advocating for a mistake?

Secondly, what has Trump done in his effort to bring a peaceful resolution in Israel that you would quantify as a "mistake"?


Your post is confusing. Maybe you can clarify.

The nominations for The Nobel Peace Prize ended on Jan. 31st 2025. Can you please tell me what trump had done after only being in office for 11 days to be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize?? Nothing.


Since trump was only in office for 11 days when the nominating process ended maybe you could answer your own question?

I NEVER SAID HE SHOULD GET THE PRIZE
I NEVER SAID HE SHOULD GET THE PRIZE
I NEVER SAID HE SHOULD GET THE PRIZE
I NEVER SAID HE SHOULD GET THE PRIZE
I NEVER SAID HE SHOULD GET THE PRIZE
I NEVER SAID HE SHOULD GET THE PRIZE
I NEVER SAID HE SHOULD GET THE PRIZE
I NEVER SAID HE SHOULD GET THE PRIZE
I NEVER SAID HE SHOULD GET THE PRIZE
I NEVER SAID HE SHOULD GET THE PRIZE
I NEVER SAID HE SHOULD GET THE PRIZE


Get it? You keep droning on with the same non-sense that has NOTHING to do with my post.


I said (I'll knock it down a notch for the feeble-minded):

Many people (including the Committee) lauded Obama's vision of the future as more than enough to award him the prize.

Many of the same people (including people here) say that Trump (who actually accomplished something in the name of peace) cannot be worthy of the prize until enough time goes by to establish the impact and longevity of such peace.

Now I know any group of 4th graders can understand the hypocrisy here; not necessarily YOU, but most 4th graders.


Just to tie a nice bow on this before your brain goes off the rails again. I NEVER SAID HE SHOULD GET THE PRIZE, or even be eligible for it -- I'm simply pointing out the double-standard.

Get it??

What double standard? I know you like to attack the intelligence of anyone who questions you. That's your shtick. I get it.

At that point in time all he was saying is that the elections were rigged and claimed he was going to be his voters "retribution". What kind of "vision" do you describe that?

My comments are based on those who claim he deserved it and base it on all of his accomplishments since he has taken office. In case it flew over your head that's even what he has been saying. His "vision" was division and tearing the country apart by targeting anyone and everyone who disagreed with him or stood up to him.

Now if he had some great vision to try and unify America you could point out a double standard exists. If he were promoting a bipartisan effort to heal the divide you may have a point. But there is no actual comparison to be made there into regards to that. That would be an actual double standard.

Maybe since he is the one touting all of his accomplishments as the reason he should have won the Nobel Peace Prize it shouldn't make you throw a tantrum that people bring that up. I simply asked you what trump had done during his first 11 days in office that might make you feel he was deserving of the Nobel Peace prize. In case it escaped you I didn't "accuse you" of anything..............


But then again when did little things like that matter to you?

I guess I was just thrown off by bringing up Obama (who DID score himself the award with similarly weak/sketchy reasons) with an argumentative tone.

Who cares what some org.in Norway thinks?

Of all the prizes awarded it is the most political and subjective.

Clearly Trump cares very very deeply about what some org. in Norway things. . . I'd say on the face of his many public comments, it is an obsession.

I'm sure throughout history the people who didn't win the award who thought they were deserving called it Political.

Peen, you really wanna know why Trump didn't win? I'll tell you.. The biggest obstacle for Trump, is that they actually fact check.

Trump will never win and it's NOT political.. NOT IN THE LEAST. They don't award it to Felons..

His claim of ending 7 or 8 wars was fact checked and ended up being BS.

He's a convicted Felon... Like it or not, he is. And he's doing everything he can to avoid that Epstein files being released. Do you think he'd do that if he wasn't implicated or if his Buddies weren't implicated in some way? Of course not.

But you keep defending him... Be my guest! It's your right but damn man, you are saying it's ok for him to blow up the constitution. And that's not a good thing

Considering trump has been going on and on about it like he has no clue the nomination process was over on Jan. 31st it is certainly quite clear that he cares.

You might want to check your facts on felons.

Sorry man, you are "Deranged", not Daman.

trump was convicted of felonies. That would make him a convicted felon. The sentence was delayed/suspended when he became potus

While that is true trump is a convicted felon several convicted felons have been awarded the Noble Peace Prize. You and Damon could certainly make the argument that trump doesn't fall under the guidelines of convicted felons that have received the award but claiming no convicted felon has ever won the award is patently false. Here is a list of such examples.......

Carl von Ossietzky (1935)

Conviction: The German government, before and during the Nazi regime, imprisoned the journalist and pacifist on multiple occasions. In 1931, he was convicted of treason for exposing Germany's secret rearmament efforts. After the Nazis took power, they arrested and tortured him in a concentration camp.

Reason: His convictions stemmed from his uncompromising criticism of German militarism. Adolf Hitler was so outraged by Ossietzky receiving the award while imprisoned that he forbade any German from accepting a Nobel Prize in the future.

Lech Wałęsa (1983)

Conviction: As a trade union leader in communist Poland, Wałęsa was frequently persecuted and was placed under house arrest in 1981.

Reason: His "crimes" were his efforts to secure free trade unions and human rights in Poland, which were considered dangerous to the Communist authorities. He was released from house arrest shortly before being awarded the prize.

Nelson Mandela (1993)

Conviction: The South African government sentenced Mandela to life in prison in 1964 for sabotage and other crimes against the apartheid regime. He spent 27 years incarcerated before his release.

Reason: His convictions were the result of his work as an anti-apartheid revolutionary, resisting the country's system of racial segregation

Ales Bialiatski (2022)

Conviction: The human rights activist from Belarus was imprisoned for over a decade, most recently sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2023 on what many considered politically motivated charges.

Reason: His convictions were a result of his tireless work for human rights and democracy in Belarus.

Narges Mohammadi (2023)

Conviction: The Iranian government has convicted Mohammadi multiple times for her human rights activism. In 2023, when the Nobel Prize was announced, she was serving a 10-year prison sentence in Iran's Evin Prison.

Reason: Her "violations" include her advocacy against the death penalty and protests against the oppression of women. The Iranian Foreign Ministry criticized the Nobel Committee for awarding the prize to a "convicted felon".

Now as far as trump's convictions meeting anything close to this criteria I agree it does not. But the fact a person is a convicted felon alone does not exclude them from winning a Nobel Peace Prize.

Hmmmmm

I wonder where this ‘falls into” the Nobel committee review criteria for “peaceful outreach”

Trump being Trump

So, they were wrongly convicted.,.,, Got it.., Trump can't say that

I saw that and it demonstrates why people just don't like the guy,. He's a damn fool.

Peen: I'm not at all deranged. I just don't like Leaders that ignore the Constitution.

Yet he does.

Tru Dat!