María Corina Machado’s Nobel Prize thrusts the Venezuelan opposition onto the world stage

A mix of immense anticipation, excitement, and a touch of disbelief has gripped icy Oslo in recent hours. Isabel seeks refuge from the cold as she proudly walks through the streets of the Norwegian capital, carrying the Venezuelan flag. She has just arrived from Stockholm to witness what she considers will be a historic moment for her country: the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to opposition leader María Corina Machado.

“I feel as if I won it myself,” says the 54-year-old, who asks that her last name be omitted for fear of reprisals against her family members who remain in Venezuela. “This prize has given me back the hope that the situation can improve, that we will be free again,” adds Josefina, 46, who traveled with her from Sweden, as they both count down the minutes until the official ceremony on Wednesday.

The possibility that Machado might also travel to Norway to receive the prize in person has generated enormous anticipation both inside and outside Venezuela. The mystery lingered throughout Tuesday, when the 58-year-old opposition leader was scheduled to hold a press conference at the Nobel Institute, which was first postponed and then ultimately canceled by the organizers.

“We therefore can’t give any more information about when and how she will come for her Nobel Peace Prize,” Erik Aasheim, spokesperson for the Norwegian Nobel Peace Prize Institute, told the media accredited to cover the event. It was set to be the first official activity in a long list of ceremonial events, and was supposed to mark Machado’s first public appearance since she decided to continue her political struggle from hiding in August of last year. “We’re waiting to see what happens; nobody knows anything,” says Isabel, with an air of mystery and the undimmed hope of seeing the opposition leader in person.

The Nobel Prize has turned the world’s attention to Machado and Venezuela’s political crisis. The Norwegian Nobel Committee’s decision to award her the recognition came as a surprise, even to her and her most loyal supporters. After months of pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump, who actively campaigned to claim the prize since his return to the White House in January, and after receiving 338 different nominations, the organizers chose this year the figure most uncomfortable for Nicolás Maduro’s government and the most visible face of a persecuted, fragmented opposition forced into exile.

The announcement was made on October 10, at a moment of heightened tension between the United States and Venezuela, fueled by an unprecedented military deployment off the Venezuelan coast. It also came nearly a year after the last presidential elections, in which Maduro declared himself the winner despite international condemnation, allegations of fraud, and evidence gathered by the opposition that Edmundo González — the candidate Machado had supported after the regime prevented her from running — had won by a wide margin.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee could have avoided controversy, but it chose Machado “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.” This year’s Nobel Prize recognizes more than two decades of struggle against repression, awarded to a political leader who has had to live in hiding for speaking out in a country where doing so has become a crime.

It is also an acknowledgment of the collective suffering of the Venezuelan opposition: for those who have been silenced, for hundreds of political prisoners, and for more than eight million people forced to leave the country due to hunger, necessity, or persecution. “The Nobel Prize is ours.” The slogan championed by the opposition leader in recent weeks is also the battle cry of those gathered in Oslo. “It’s a sign that the world sees us, that they are finally listening to us,” says Sonia Zapata, a Venezuelan who has lived in Norway for 20 years.

Machado divides opinion. For Chavismo, which has faced open confrontation with the opposition leader for more than two decades, she embodies the plots of the far right, capitalist hypocrisy, and servility toward the United States. For her supporters, she is a symbol that another Venezuela is possible, proof that resistance is worthwhile, and a leader willing to make every sacrifice to move the country forward. There is no middle ground in the Venezuelan political context.

Outside of South America, some of Machado’s political convictions and alliances have also drawn criticism. “I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause,” she wrote on her X account upon learning she would receive the award.

The Venezuelan leader has also publicly supported the possibility of international intervention to end Maduro’s regime, and has backed the hardline measures and sanctions promoted by the United States to deepen the diplomatic isolation of the Chavista government. Critics have questioned whether her positions align with the peace values promoted by the Nobel Prize. Supporters argue that ending a dictatorship requires exceptional measures and that Trump’s support has been crucial at times when international pressure was weak. The threat of a potential U.S. military operation is another uncertainty looming over this year’s Nobel Prize ceremony.

“Freedom must be fought for, and facing a tyranny of this kind requires moral, spiritual, and physical strength,” she said in an interview with EL PAÍS a few hours after being announced as the winner. “Maduro decides whether to take it or leave it, but he will go, with or without a negotiation,” she added.

Every decision Machado has made has been subject to scrutiny, especially since the prize was announced two months ago. Criticism has included, for example, the invitation of far-right leaders as guests of honor, such as Argentina’s ultraconservative President Javier Milei and other right-wing Latin American leaders like Ecuador’s Daniel Noboa or Paraguay’s Santiago Peña. Milei arrived in Oslo on Tuesday, while Panama’s José Raúl Mulino arrived on Monday.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has defended its decision by arguing that it recognizes the fight for democracy, regardless of ideological differences. The Nobel Peace Center, another key organization in the preparations, summed it up this way: “The global political divide of our time is not left versus right, but democracy versus dictatorship.” In some Scandinavian media, where the situation in Venezuelan is perceived as a distant reality, the award has been framed as a response to the so-called spirit of the times — a reaffirmation of democracy in an era of wars, personalist leadership, constant threats, and ever-growing signs of democratic erosion in the West.

Above all, the recognition bolsters a Venezuelan opposition that has long suffered systematic repression under Chavismo and still struggles with internal divisions. And in the face of the uncertain outcome of Trump’s escalation in the Caribbean, all defenders of the Venezuelan democratic cause received a renewed boost this Wednesday from Oslo.

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