Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Venezuela’s Machado

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.

The former opposition presidential candidate in Venezuela 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.

“In the past year, Miss 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 recognise courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist.”

President Nicolas Maduro’s government routinely targeted its real or perceived opponents ahead of last year’s presidential election.

Machado was set to run against Maduro, but the government disqualified her. Edmundo Gonzalez took her place. He had never run for office before. The lead-up to the election saw widespread repression, including disqualifications, arrests and human rights violations.

The crackdown on dissent only increased after the country’s National Electoral Council, which is stacked with Maduro loyalists, declared him the winner despite credible evidence to the contrary.