María Corina Machado, a champion of democracy in Venezuela, is the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize it was announced Friday morning in Oslo, Norway. The $1.2 million prize will be awarded to Machado on December 10.
The former opposition presidential candidate in Venezuela won "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," the Norwegian Nobel Committee said in its citation.
"In the past year, 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. When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist," saidvJorgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel committee.
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María Corina Machad, a champion of democracy in Venezuela, is the winner of the Nobel Peace Prize
(Photo: Alfredo Lasry R/Getty Images)
The committee chose to focus on Venezuela at this time, in a year dominated by U.S. President Donald Trump's repeated public statements that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize.
In light of the agreement between Israel and Hamas to release the hostages and end the war, Israelis expressed support for U.S. President Donald Trump's win. However, early estimates determined that his chances of receiving the prize were low. Trump himself exerted unprecedented pressure to win the prize, and among other things told UN representatives: "Everyone says I should receive the Nobel Peace Prize."
The five members of the committee that awards the prize are appointed by the Norwegian parliament, and their political positions are seen as opposing those of Trump. Fridens, who heads a Norwegian organization for freedom of expression, has previously criticized Trump for violating this right, and it was expected that the committee would refrain from awarding the prize to the American president anyway – in a way that would be seen as a "capitulation" to the pressure he exerted.