CARACAS, Venezuela — Some saw the news as a signal of the beginning of the end of the economic, political and social catastrophe that has engulfed Venezuela over the past decade, prompting millions to flee their South American homeland.
“When I saw the news, I cried, hugged my children and prayed,” said Marie Carmen Bermudez, 34, a supermarket cashier in Caracas. “I feel like our nightmare will end soon.”
Others said that the reward Nobel Peace Prize for Maria Corina Machado, a veteran anti-government activist who lives here in hiding, was just the latest chapter in a US-led plot to overthrow President Nicolas Maduro.
“In my opinion, lady Machado never called for peace in the country, only for war,” said Yober David Avalos, 28, an appliance repairman and motorcycle taxi driver. “I don’t think she’s a persecuted politician. From her hiding place she called for an invasion of Venezuela.”
The mixed reaction to Machado's award, both in Venezuela and across the continent, reflects the complex politics and shifting alliances in the region. Argentina's conservative president and Colombia's leftist leader congratulated Machado. Cuba called the decision to honor the memory of “a man who provokes military intervention in her homeland” “shameful.” Mexico's leftist President Claudia Sheinbaum, the region's leading female leader, declined to comment.
Some observers have questioned whether the award could encourage more aggressive U.S. behavior toward Maduro, whom the White House has called a “narco-terrorist.”
There was no immediate official reaction to Machado's award in Venezuela. The news made international headlines but was ignored by official news channels.
On social networks, Machado said that the opposition was “on the verge of victory” and pointedly bombarded Trump with verbal bouquets.
“I dedicate this award to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his strong support of our cause!” Machado wrote.
This was a hint to the President, who had openly competed for the award for himself and was clearly indignant that he lost. The White House complained that the Nobel committee chose “politics over peace.”
Apparently seeking reconciliation, Machado reached out to Trump by phone.
“The man who actually won the Nobel Prize called today and called me and said, 'I'm accepting this in honor of you because you really deserve it,'” Trump said Friday in the Oval Office. “It's very nice. I didn't say, 'Then give it to me,' although I think she might have. She was very nice.”
Although his supporters praise him as “Iron Lady” “The Iron Lady” is a nickname given decades ago to British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. — Machado is a controversial figure, even among the Venezuelan opposition. Critics have criticized her explicit praise of Trump and his policies, as well as her refusal to back down from potential military intervention in Venezuela.
Whether the award will influence Washington's evolving Venezuela policy remains unclear. Although the US has increased the bounty on Maduro's head to $50 million, Washington and Caracas are still cooperating on multiple levels, with Venezuela accepting US deportees and the Trump administration allowing US oil giant Chevron to operate in the country.
“I think the U.S. is still where it was before,” said Jeff Ramsey, a Venezuela analyst at the Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank. “Ultimately, Washington's Venezuela policy is at a crossroads. The White House must decide whether it wants to escalate military strikes, engage directly with Caracas, or simply declare victory and move on.”
Machado said her political movement is ready to take over if Maduro falls and has a plan for the first 100 days of the transition period.
In selecting Machado, the Norwegian Nobel Committee cited “her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”
Details of the Nobel discussions remain secret. But one suggestion was that Machado was chosen in part because she would be acceptable to the White House, which may have assuaged Trump's irritation at not winning the award.
Machado, 58, is a conservative and an outspoken advocate of regime change in a government that is under Washington's crosshairs.
Still, Machado “has a legitimate cause, and this award means a lot to Venezuelans who are committed to democracy in an authoritarian context,” said Laura Cristina Deeb, an analyst at the Washington Office on Latin America, a research and advocacy group.
Amid widespread allegations of fraud, Maduro claimed victory in the July 2024 election but refused to provide definitive data to back up his claim. According to the opposition, the candidate Machado supported, Edmundo González Urrutia, was stripped of the presidency. Washington recognizes him as the winner.
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado and opposition presidential candidate Edmundo González Urrutia appear on the news in Caracas, Venezuela, July 25, 2024, a month before that year's presidential elections.
(Christian Hernandez/Associated Press)
On Friday, Machado refused to answer a question from Spanish newspaper El País whether she ruled out a US military intervention in Venezuela. Governments, she said, must make a choice: “be with the people of Venezuela or with the drug-terrorist cartel.”
In a recent appearance on Fox News, Machado did not object to the Trump administration's bombing of ships suspected of transporting drugs in international waters off the coast of Venezuela – attacks that killed 21 people and which human rights activists called extrajudicial killings.
In her guest appearance on Fox, Machado repeated the White House's talking points. “Maduro has turned Venezuela into the greatest threat to U.S. national security and the stability of the region,” she said.
Machado also did not condemn Trump's controversial immigration policies, including the deportation of more than 200 Venezuelan citizens to the country in March. prison in El SalvadorHuman rights activists and Maduro called this step illegal.
Machado also has not weighed in on Trump's plan to end protected status for more than 500,000 Venezuelans in the United States, which could lead to their deportation.
One hope, Deeb said, is that “giving her the award is a way of holding her to a higher standard in trying to achieve a democratic transition.”
The honor resonated with many in Florida, home to the largest Venezuelan population in the United States, where both Republican and Democratic leaders praised Machado.
Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez (R-Fla.) called her “the bravest freedom fighter in the world,” adding, “Maria Corina inspired us all and dedicated her victory to President Trump, the strongest ally the Venezuelan people have ever had.”
But some are concerned that Trump supporters, angered by the perceived snub, could halt honors for Venezuelans in the United States.
“We have already been criminalized and singled out,” said Maria Puerta Riera, a Venezuelan-American political science professor from Orlando and Colorado. “It won’t help our image.”
Special correspondent Mogollon reported from Caracas, Times staff writers McDonnell and Linthicum from Mexico City and Times staff writer Ceballos from Washington. Times staff writer Andrea Castillo in Washington contributed to this report.
