Trump’s quest for coveted honour falls short again
Oslo: Venezuelan Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her struggle to achieve a democratic transition in the South American nation, winning recognition as a woman “who keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness”.
The former Opposition presidential candidate is a “key, unifying figure” in the once deeply divided Opposition to President Nicolas 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 recognise courageous defenders of freedom who rise and resist.”
“This is something that the Venezuelan people deserve,” Machado said in a call with the Norwegian Nobel Institute.
“I am just part of a huge movement… I’m humbled, I’m grateful and I’m honoured not only by this recognition, but I’m honoured to be part of what’s going on in Venezuela today.”
“I believe that we are very close to achieving, finally, freedom for our country and peace for the region,” she said, adding that “even though we face the most brutal violence, our society has resisted” and insisted on struggling by peaceful means. “I believe that the world will now understand how urgent it is to finally, you know, succeed.”
US President Donald Trump was passed over for the Nobel Peace Prize despite jockeying from his fellow Republicans, various world leaders and – most vocally – himself.
Machado, however, said she wanted to dedicate the win to Trump, along with the people of her country, as she praised the President for support of her cause.
The White House responded bitterly to the news of the award, with communications director Steven Cheung saying members of “the Nobel committee proved they place politics over peace” because they didn’t recognise Trump, especially after the Gaza ceasefire deal his administration helped strike this week.
“He has the heart of a humanitarian, and there will never be anyone like him who can move mountains with the sheer force of his will,” Cheung wrote on social media.
Trump, who has long coveted the prestigious prize, has been outspoken about his desire for the honour during both of his presidential terms, particularly lately as he takes credit for ending conflicts around the world.
The Republican President had expressed doubts that the Nobel committee would ever grant him the award.
“They’ll have to do what they do. Whatever they do is fine. I know this: I didn’t do it for that. I did it because I saved a lot of lives,” Trump said Thursday.
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.”
Machado, who turned 58 this week, was set to run against Maduro in last year’s presidential election, but the government disqualified her. Edmundo Gonzalez, 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.
The crackdown on dissent only increased after the country’s National Electoral Council, which is stacked with President Nicolas Maduro’s loyalists, declared him the winner despite credible evidence to the contrary.