Nobel Peace Prize Winner Dedicates Award to Trump — Calls Him “Decisive in Ending Tyranny”

In a moment that stunned international audiences and ignited fierce debate online, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, winner of the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, dedicated her historic award to former U.S. President Donald Trump. Machado, long known for her fearless stance against the Nicolás Maduro regime, said she owed a deep debt of gratitude to Trump, whose policies she credited for pushing Venezuela to the “threshold of freedom after 26 years of tyranny.”

“I decided to dedicate it to President Trump because he deserves it,” Machado declared in a live Fox News interview shortly after the Nobel announcement. “Because not only has he been involved in only a few months in solving eight wars, but his actions have been decisive in having Venezuela now at the threshold of freedom. I insist — he deserves it.” Her words immediately rippled through the international press, echoing across social media platforms and fueling new political waves in both Latin America and the United States.

Machado, who has spent decades leading Venezuela’s democratic movement, was honored by the Nobel Committee for her “nonviolent struggle for democracy and human rights in Venezuela.” Her recognition marks one of the most significant milestones in the country’s modern history — a victory she described as belonging to “the people who never stopped believing that Venezuela could be free again.” Yet, her decision to dedicate the award to Trump adds a new and controversial layer to that story.

She elaborated further during the interview, explaining that Trump’s second-term foreign policy, including renewed sanctions, asset freezes, and increased diplomatic isolation of Maduro’s allies, played a crucial role in weakening the regime. “President Trump has been very clear, very courageous in dismantling these criminal structures,” Machado said. “And on behalf of the Venezuelan people, I reaffirmed our gratitude and our commitment to this cause for the whole of America.”

Trump, who has long touted his record as a peace broker, including his historic Abraham Accords in the Middle East and his administration’s de-escalations in Eastern Europe and Asia, has often claimed he should have received the Nobel Peace Prize himself. Machado’s tribute now gives new weight to that claim — and fresh political energy to his supporters, who flooded social media with messages like “He earned it” and “Finally, someone tells the truth.”

While many conservatives celebrated Machado’s remarks as validation of Trump’s global leadership, critics accused her of politicizing what is traditionally viewed as a nonpartisan humanitarian honor. Liberal commentators on X (formerly Twitter) were quick to frame the move as “partisan theatrics,” arguing that Trump’s confrontational approach toward Latin America did little to improve conditions for ordinary Venezuelans. Yet even some of his detractors acknowledged the practical results of U.S. pressure during his term — results that, in Machado’s words, “forced open the first cracks in Maduro’s regime.”

For Venezuelans watching from Caracas to Miami, Machado’s speech carried an emotional weight. Her decades-long battle against the socialist government has included imprisonment, exile threats, and international sanctions against her political movement. That she stood on the global stage — victorious, defiant, and unapologetic in praising an American president who helped her cause — sent a message that resonated far beyond politics.

Diplomatic analysts note that her comments could mark a new chapter in Latin American politics, where leaders traditionally hesitate to align too openly with Washington. Machado’s boldness, however, underscores how intertwined Venezuela’s fight for freedom has become with international diplomacy. Her Nobel win and subsequent dedication may also strengthen ties between pro-democracy movements across the hemisphere, many of which view Trump’s foreign policy legacy as a model of pragmatic interventionism.

As celebrations erupted among Venezuelan exiles and opposition supporters, one thing became clear: Maria Corina Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize is not just a personal victory — it’s a political earthquake. By linking her achievement to Donald Trump, she reignited a conversation about his role in reshaping U.S. foreign policy and his enduring influence on global affairs. In a single statement, she reminded the world that sometimes, peace prizes aren’t just about the absence of conflict — but about those who had the courage to confront it.