Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado wins Nobel peace prize

'When authoritarians seize power, it is crucial to recognise courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist'

Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado waves a Venezuelan national flag during a rally to protest official results that declared President Nicolas Maduro the winner of the July presidential election, in Caracas, Venezuela, Aug. 17, 2024. File Picture: AP Photo/Cristian Hernandez

Maria Corina Machado of Venezuela has won the Nobel Peace Prize.

The opposition activist and former presidential candidate was lauded for being a “key, unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided – an opposition that found common ground in the demand for free elections and representative government,” said Jorgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel committee.