Khaberni - Venezuelan María Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize, which was announced on Friday afternoon.
The Iron Lady and prominent face of Venezuelan opposition
Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2025 in recognition of her tireless work in promoting the democratic rights of the Venezuelan people and her efforts in seeking a fair and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.
Machado was born on October 7, 1967, in the Venezuelan capital, Caracas, and is an industrial engineer and politician considered one of the leading figures of opposition in the country.
Machado served as a member of the Venezuelan National Assembly between 2011 and 2014, and later founded a political movement known as "Vente Venezuela," which has become one of the main opposition forces against President Nicolas Maduro's regime.
In October 2023, Machado won the primary elections organized by the opposition forces by a large margin of votes, becoming the unified opposition candidate for the 2024 presidential elections. However, Venezuelan authorities formally barred her from running, citing administrative violations, which the opposition considered a political decision to exclude her from the race.
After being barred from the elections, Machado announced in March 2024 her support for the alternative candidate Corina Yuris, and later for the candidate Edmundo González Orrotia, who campaigned in the name of the opposition, in a step aimed at uniting the opposition ranks.
On a personal level, María Corina was married to businessman Ricardo Sousa Branger before they separated in 2001, and she has three children with him: Ana Corina, Enrique, and Ricardo. Her children currently reside outside Venezuela due to the political situation.
Machado is nicknamed in the media as "Venezuela's Iron Lady," known for her firm stances against the ruling regime and her repeated calls for the restoration of democracy and human rights in the country, while many see her as the most significant political threat to the future of Maduro's rule.
