CARACAS, Friday, October 10, 2025 (WNP): Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, newly awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, has dedicated the honor to the “people of Venezuela” — whom she described as the true bearers of courage, dignity, and love in their long and painful fight for freedom.

In an emotional statement issued in Caracas, Machado expressed “profound gratitude” to the Norwegian Nobel Committee, saying she accepted the award “on behalf of the people of Venezuela, who have fought for their freedom with admirable courage, dignity, intelligence, and love.”

Reflecting on more than two decades of political repression, she said Venezuelans have endured 26 years of violence and humiliation under a tyranny determined to crush the nation’s spirit, marked by “detentions, torture, forced disappearances, and extrajudicial executions — all of which constitute crimes against humanity and state terrorism.”

Despite these brutalities, Machado said the Venezuelan people have remained steadfast. “We have forged a formidable civic movement, overcome the barriers the regime built to divide us, and united the nation in one powerful yearning: peace in freedom,” she declared.

She emphasized that the Nobel Peace Prize serves as a powerful boost of hope and confidence for Venezuelans, both inside and outside the country, as they continue their struggle for democracy.

“This immense support demonstrates that the global democratic community understands and shares our struggle. It is a firm call for the transition to democracy in Venezuela to be realized immediately, just as we so forcefully mandated in the electoral victory of July 28th,” she said.

Machado expressed gratitude to “the peoples of the Americas and the world, and to the brave leaders who stand with us,” saying their solidarity will be remembered forever in Venezuela’s history.

She underscored the moral foundation of the Venezuelan struggle, asserting that peace cannot exist without freedom.

“Venezuela will be free, and this achievement will propagate courage and hope throughout the Americas, because freedom, democracy, and prosperity are the pillars that unite us,” she affirmed.

Concluding her statement on a deeply personal note, Machado dedicated the award to every Venezuelan citizen: “This award is yours. It is a recognition of what we have achieved together and a reminder of what still remains. Now, we advance with even greater strength, confidence, and unwavering faith — because we go hand in hand with God, until the end.”