Donald Trump comes away empty-handed Maria Corina Machado wins the Nobel Prize in 2025

Donald Trump comes away empty-handed: The 2025 Nobel Peace Prize goes to Venezuelan politician María Corina Machado.

The Venezuelan opponent of the regime María Corina Machado receives the Nobel Peace Prize 2025. At least as interesting is who does not receive the medal for their extraordinary commitment to peace and understanding: Donald Trump.

María Corina Machado is a prominent Venezuelan opposition politician and industrial engineer who has made a name for herself as a staunch critic of Nicolás Maduro's regime.

She has led the "Vente Venezuela" party since 2012 and was a co-founder of the citizens' movement Súmate. Her candidacy for the presidency was ruled out by a court decision, but she took on a central role in the election campaign as a voice for democratic reforms.

In January 2025, she was briefly arrested and released following public protests - a symbol of the tensions between the opposition and the Maduro government. She currently speaks of a "resolutive phase" in Venezuela's political transition and calls for an orderly transitional government without violence.

"In the long history of the Nobel Prize, we have always been independent - we have never been guided by campaigns or media coverage. We sit in a room - and decide independently," said the chairman of the Nobel Prize Committee, Jørgen Watne Frydnes, on the decision against Trump.

Frydnes revealed in the newspaper "Verdens Gang" that the decision on this year's winner had already been made on Monday - several days before the Gaza deal became known.

Critics accuse Trump of undermining rules-based international cooperation based on multilateral treaties, agreements and values. The nomination deadline also spoke against Trump: it expired at the end of January - at which point Trump had only officially been in office for eleven days. It is anything but certain that he was nominated in time for this year's prize.