Nobel Peace Prize Winner Machado Says Maduro’s Exit Inevitable

Machado has described the Maduro government as a criminal structure funded by trafficking networks.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado speaks during a press conference with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere (not pictured), a day after the award ceremony, in Oslo, Norway, on Dec. 11, 2025. Leonhard Foeger/Reuters

Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado said on Dec. 12 that Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro would leave power, whether through a negotiated handover or otherwise, stressing that her priority was to achieve a peaceful transition.

Machado, one of Venezuela’s most prominent opposition figures, made the remarks in Oslo after defying a travel ban imposed by the Maduro government and arriving in Norway on Dec. 10, hours after a Nobel Institute ceremony presented her award that was collected by her daughter.