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FIRST ON FOX: Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado credited the president Donald Trump for helping support Venezuela’s pro-democracy movement while dedicating the Nobel Peace Prize to him, telling Fox News Digital that he provided critical support at a time when Venezuelans felt abandoned by the international community.
“I am absolutely grateful to President Trump for every gesture, every sign and every moment he has been with the Venezuelan people. I watched it very carefully, and I know what it meant to those who are fighting to claim democracy and freedom in our country,” he said.
“A free and democratic Venezuela is not only possible – it is closer than ever. And that free Venezuela is breathing stronger than ever,” said Machado, adding that his Nobel Peace Prize is also dedicated to Trump. “This Nobel Prize is symbolic of that fight for freedom and is dedicated to the Venezuelan people and to President Trump for showing what appears to be strong leadership in the moments that matter most.”
The Nobel Peace Prize Maria Corina Machado greets at the Grand Hotel in Oslo, Norway, Thursday before December 11, 2025. (Lise Åserud/NTB Scanpix via AP)
An official familiar with the matter told Fox News Digital that Machado hopes to visit the United States and meet the president to formally honor him for what he sees as his support for the Venezuelan people.
Machado’s remarks came as she did resurrected publicly in OsloNorway, after spending 11 months in hiding. After a brief detention during an anti-government demonstration in Caracas, he went underground as pressure from the Maduro government intensified.
His return to the public eye coincided with the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, where his daughter, Ana Corina Sosa, accepted the award on his behalf. The Associated Press reported that Machado greeted supporters from a hotel balcony — his first public appearance in nearly a year.
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Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s daughter Ana Corina Sosa accepts the award on behalf of her mother, Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, during the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony at Oslo City Hall, Norway, on December 10. (Ole Berg-Rusten/NTB Scanpix, Pool via AP)
Machado has been barred from running in the 2024 presidential election despite winning the opposition primary by a wide margin, a move that has drawn strong criticism from Western governments.
Roxanna Vigil, a fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, told Fox News Digital that Machado remains “the most popular political figure in Venezuela,” adding that he secured “more than 90% of the vote” in the opposition primary before being blocked by Maduro. “She became a real threat … and so they disqualified her from the race,” Vigil said. Machado ultimately endorsed Edmundo González, who went on to win the election.
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Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado addresses supporters at a rally against President Nicolas Maduro in Caracas, Venezuela, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, the day before he is inaugurated for a third term. (AP Photo/Ariana Cubillos)
Machado ultimately endorsed González, who was widely considered by independent accounts of the result to have won the 2024 election, but who did not take the presidency after Venezuela’s official National Electoral Council, controlled by Maduro’s allies, declared Nicolás Maduro the winner and inaugurated him for another term.
Machado has signaled that she intends to return to Venezuela when conditions allow and continues to demand a peaceful transition out of Maduro’s rule.
