Born on October 7 and Urged Netanyahu to Send Troops to Her Country: Who’s the Nobel Peace Prize Winner Who Beat Trump to It?
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado snatched what Donald Trump desperately wanted: the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize. For months, Trump had made no secret of his desire for the prize, tweeting, speaking, and basically declaring to the world that he alone deserved it. The Nobel Committee, however, disagreed.
On Friday, the Norwegian Nobel Committee awarded the prize to the staunch Israel supporter for her “relentless fight for democracy and human rights” in Venezuela. The committee praised the zionist leader for a “fair and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”
White House officials responded with a mixture of incredulity and indignation. Steven Cheung, spokesperson for Trump, insisted that “President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives.” He added that the Nobel Committee “proved they place politics over peace.”
Who Is She?
María Corina Machado, 58, is an industrial engineer turned opposition leader. Courts prevented her from running in the 2024 presidential election by a 15-year disqualification, based on her involvement in a corruption plot linked to Juan Guaidó that led to a criminal blockade and seizure of Venezuela’s assets abroad.
She has positioned herself as a key figure in the opposition, advocating for “democratic reforms” while maintaining strong ties with Israel and the West.
Machado has consistently expressed strong affiliation with Israel. In April 2024, during Israel’s attacks on Iran, she called Iran’s response “unacceptable” and voiced solidarity with the occupation state of Israel and its settlers.
She has highlighted Venezuela’s diplomatic relations with Iran as a potential “global risk”, framing her pro-Israel stance as part of a strategy to strengthen Venezuela’s alignment with the West. In January 2025, she thanked Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar for “support for Venezuela’s sovereignty and electoral situation.”
Machado has publicly stated that if elected president, she would restore full diplomatic relations with Israel, including the possible relocation of Venezuela’s embassy to the occupied Palestinian capital city of Jerusalem.
Reports from 2018 reveal that Machado asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is wanted now by the ICC for war crimes in Gaza, to consider military intervention in Venezuela. Other reports reveal that she signed a cooperation agreement with Israel’s Likud Party in 2020.
Machado has repeatedly drawn parallels between her efforts against Venezuela’s elected leadership and Israel’s wars on neighboring countries.
“Venezuela’s struggle is Israel’s struggle,” she once declared, tagging Netanyahu on social media. Her alignment with Israel has drawn praise from pro-Israel groups and attention from international observers who track Western-oriented leadership in Latin America.
In a world where a country committing genocide and attacking its neighbors can still see its allies celebrated with a Nobel Peace Prize, María Corina Machado’s win exposes the stark contradictions of global politics. The award isn’t just about her; it’s a mirror showing how bizarre, and sometimes cynical, the world’s idea of “peace” has become.
