Peace Prize Winner on Call: 'I Certainly Do Not Deserve This'

Nobel award recognized Maria Corina Machado's fight for democracy in Venezuela
Posted Oct 10, 2025 1:44 PM CDT

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado learned early Friday that she'd been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in an emotional phone call, captured on video, from Kristian Berg Harpviken of the Norwegian Nobel Institute. "Oh my God," Machado told Harpviken, per CBS News. "I am just one person. I certainly do not deserve this." Fortune notes that Harpviken's voice was also shaking with emotion during the call.

Harpviken explained the committee's choice, citing Machado's "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." Machado described herself as honored and humbled, adding in a later statement that the recognition represented a "boost to conclude our task: to conquer freedom. ... I am sure we will prevail."

Machado dedicated the prize to the Venezuelan people and thanked international allies, including the US and President Trump, for their support. Her remarks come as Venezuela, under President Nicolas Maduro, remains in a protracted political crisis. Maduro's 2024 election was widely viewed as illegitimate by the US and other nations, which instead recognize opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia as the winner. Machado, who has remained in hiding since the election, has openly supported US pressure on Maduro's government, calling it necessary to restore democracy.

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