Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who lives in hiding, won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday (October 10) for fighting dictatorship in the country.

Before the announcement was made, the Secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Institute, Kristian Berg Harpviken, called her to give her the news.

"Oh my God ... I have no words," Machado told Harpviken, in a phone call which the committee posted on social media.

Machado, a 58-year-old industrial engineer, was blocked in 2024 by Venezuela's courts from running for president and thus challenging President Nicolas Maduro, who has been in power since 2013.

Maduro, whose 12 years in office have been marked by deep economic and social crisis, was sworn in for a third term in January this year, despite a six-month-long election dispute, international calls for him to stand aside and an increase in the U.S. reward offered for his capture.

After being blocked from running in 2024, Machado threw herself into campaigning for her replacement, former ambassador Edmundo Gonzalez, drawing crowds that sometimes numbered in the thousands, according to attendees and images captured by media.

But several members of Machado's inner circle have faced arrest, including her head of security at the time of the campaign, and six members of her team took refuge in Argentina's embassy after prosecutors issued warrants for their arrest.

It was not immediately clear whether she would be able to attend the award ceremony in Oslo on December 10.

Machado is the first Venezuelan national to win the Nobel Peace Prize and the sixth from Latin America.

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OSLO, NORWAY (OCTOBER 10, 2025)(NOBEL PRIZE OUTREACH - Editorial use only, Maximum 3-minute edits, No alteration of content beyond editing and trimming, No sponsor graphics or commercials may be attached to the material. No resales, No re-use after January 1, 2026. Do not obscure logo.)

1. SECRETARY OF THE NORWEGIAN NOBEL COMMITTEE, KRISTIAN BERG HARPVIKEN, CALLING MARIA CORINA MACHADO TO TELL HER SHE HAS WON THE NOBEL PEACE

PRIZE, AUDIO OF PHONE RINGING

MACHADO: “Hello.”

HARPVIKEN: “Hello.”

MACHADO: “Yes, hello.”

HARPVIKEN: “Am I talking to Maria Corina Machado?”

MACHADO: “Yes, this is Maria Corina.”

HARPVIKEN: “Yes, Maria Corina. My name is Kristian Berg Harpviken. I am the secretary of the Norwegian Nobel Committee in Oslo. And I'm calling to inform you that in a few minutes, it shall be announced here at the Nobel Institute that you will be awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2025.”

MACHADO: Oh my God. Oh my God.”

HARPVIKEN: “So warmest congratulations to you, Maria.”

MACHADO: “Oh my God. My God. Well, I have no words. I, well, I thank you so much, but I hope you understand this is a movement. This is an achievement of a whole society. I am just, you know, one person. I certainly do not deserve this. Oh my God.”

HARPVIKEN: “I think both the movement and you deserve it. So I'm sure this comes as a surprise and I'm sorry to have to wake you up in the middle of the night to convey this. We don't have much time. We actually are making the announcement just in a few minutes. But I want to quote just shortly from the text that will be announced shortly, where it is said that you are receiving the prize for, and here I quote directly from the announcement, for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”

MACHADO: “I'm honoured, humbled. I am very grateful on behalf of the Venezuelan people. We're not there yet. We're working very hard to achieve it, but I'm sure that we will prevail. And this is certainly a the biggest recognition to our people that certainly deserve it. So thank you very much. Thank you very much.

HARPVIKEN: “I'm very happy to hear your reaction.”