Why has Maria Corina Machado's Nobel Peace Prize stirred a controversy

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was conferred with the Nobel Peach Prize for her efforts to restore democracy in the country. However, the win has sparked controversy and drawn criticism from political opponents, leftist commentators, and international rights groups.

Machado has been targeted for her alleged connections to conservative political movements in Europe and for being too close to right-wing US interests.

While the leader's win is being celebrated by one faction, the other is acknowledging that it will do little to improve the situation Venezuelans at risk of deportation face in the US. Others have argued that the 58-year-old has supported international sanctions and pressure from other countries against Venezuela's government.


A US Muslim civil rights group called Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) has also condemned the decision and has also called for the Nobel Committee to rescind the award.

Venezuela's ruling party members also slammed the prize as "shameful," accusing Machado of furthering political instability and colluding with foreign powers.

Coup allegations and support for Israel

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) on Friday condemned the Nobel Committee's "unconscionable" decision to award Machado, citing her "support" for Israel's Likud party and anti-Muslim fascism in Europe.

"Ms Machado is a vocal supporter of Israel's racist Likud Party and earlier this year she delivered remarks at a conference of European fascists, including Geert Wilders and Marie Le Pen, which openly called for a new Reconquista, referencing the ethnic cleansing of Spanish Muslims and Jews in the 1500s," CAIR said in a statement.

Machado's award was also cricicised by former Podemos leader and former Vice President of the Government, Pablo Iglesias:

"The truth is that to give the Nobel Peace Prize to Corina Machado, who has been trying to stage a coup d'état in her country for years, they could have given it directly to Trump or even posthumously to Adolf Hitler. Next year, let Putin and Zelensky share it. If it's already over...", Iglesias criticised on his profile on the social network X.

Venezuelan lawmaker Willian Rodriguez also condemned the award.

"The fact that the Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Machado is outrageous and shameful," Rodriguez, a member of Venezuela’s National Assembly and vice president of the Podemos party, told TASS.