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Nobel Peace Prize Awarded to Machado 10/10 06:07
OSLO, Norway (AP) -- Venezuelan opposition leader Mara Corina Machado won
the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, winning recognition as a woman "who keeps the
flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness."
The former opposition presidential candidate was lauded for being a "key,
unifying figure" in the once deeply divided opposition to President Nicols
Maduro's government, said Jorgen Watne Frydnes, chair of the Norwegian Nobel
committee.
"In the past year, Ms. Machado has been forced to live in hiding," Watne
Frydnes said. 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 recognize courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist."
He told the AP that the committee was able to reach Machado just before the
announcement and "it came as a surprise."
Exiled opposition candidate celebrates
Machado's ally, Edmundo Gonzlez, who lives in exile in Spain, posted a
short video of himself speaking by phone with Machado.
"I am in shock," she said, adding, "I cannot believe it."
Gonzlez celebrated Machado's Nobel win in a post on X, calling it a "very
well-deserved recognition for the long fight of a woman and of a whole people
for our freedom and democracy."
Maduro's government has routinely targeted its real or perceived opponents.
Machado, who turned 58 this week, was set to run against Maduro, but the
government disqualified her. Gonzlez, who had never run for office before,
took her place. The lead-up to the election saw widespread repression,
including disqualifications, arrests and human rights violations.
Crackdown on dissent
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.
The election results announced by the Electoral Council sparked protests
across the country to which the government responded with force that ended with
more than 20 people dead. They also prompted an end to diplomatic relations
between Venezuela and various foreign countries, including Argentina.
Machado went into hiding and has not been seen in public since January. A
Venezuelan court issued an arrest warrant for Gonzlez over the publication of
election results. He went into exile in Spain and was granted asylum.
Before dawn in Caracas, with few vehicles out yet on the Venezuelan
capital's usually crowded streets, some people heading to work expressed
disbelief at the news of Machado's win.
"I don't know what can be done to improve the situation, but she deserves
it," said Sandra Martnez, 32, as she waited at a bus stop. "She's a great
woman."
Support for Machado and the opposition in general has decreased since the
July 2024 election -- particularly since January, when Maduro was sworn in for
a third six-year term and disappointment set in.
Last year, Machado and Gonzlez were awarded the European Union's top human
rights honor, the Sakharov Prize.
Machado becomes the 20th woman to win the Nobel Peace Prize, of the 112
individuals who have been honored.
Speculation about Trump's Nobel chances
There had been persistent speculation ahead of the announcement about the
possibility of the prize going to U.S. President Donald Trump, fueled in part
by the president himself and amplified by this week's approval of his plan for
a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.
Asked about lobbying for and by Trump, Watne Frydnes said: "I think this
committee has seen any type of campaign, media attention. We receive thousands
and thousands of letters every year of people wanting to say what for them
leads to peace.
"This committee sits in a room filled with the portraits of all laureates,
and that room is filled with both courage and integrity. So we base only our
decision on the work and the will of Alfred Nobel."
White House spokesperson Steven Cheung said in a post on X Friday morning
that "President Trump will continue making peace deals around the world, ending
wars, and saving lives." He added that "the Nobel Committee proved they place
politics over peace."
Last year's award went to Nihon Hidankyo, a grassroots movement of Japanese
atomic bombing survivors who have worked for decades to maintain a taboo around
the use of nuclear weapons.
The peace prize is the only one of the annual Nobel prizes to be awarded in
Oslo, Norway.
Four of the other prizes have already been awarded in the Swedish capital,
Stockholm this week -- in medicine on Monday, physics on Tuesday, chemistry on
Wednesday and literature on Thursday. The winner of the prize in economics will
be announced on Monday.
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