Nobel Peace Prize Awarded to Venezuelan Opposition Leader Maria Corina Machado

There had been calls from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and families of Israeli hostages for U.S. President Donald Trump to be awarded the prize.

Former Congresswoman and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado holds up the Venezuelan flag outside of the Attorney General Office in Caracas, Venezuela, on Dec. 3, 2014. Ariana Cubillos/AP Photo

Maria Corina Machado, a Venezuelan politician and former opposition presidential candidate, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Oct. 10 “for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela.”

The Norwegian Nobel Committee said in a statement that Machado was “a brave and committed champion of peace” and a woman who “keeps the flame of democracy burning amid a growing darkness.”