Nobel Peace Prize Winner Machado Wants to Dedicate the Award to Trump
After winning the Nobel Peace Prize, Maria Corina Machado, the leader of the Venezuelan opposition who has been living abroad due to criminal cases and has not appeared publicly, tried to seek political support from US President Donald Trump and dedicated her award to him.
Earlier on Friday, the Oslo Nobel Committee announced that the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to Machado for "unrelenting efforts to promote the democratic rights of the Venezuelan people." Trump had also been nominated but did not win. The White House stated that for the Nobel Committee, political considerations are more important than peace itself. The decision to award Machado came against the backdrop of increased pressure from the United States on Venezuela, with the US previously sending warships, including a missile cruiser and an attack nuclear submarine, to the coast of Venezuela.
White House press spokesperson Levitt said on August 19 that President Trump plans to use "all American military forces" to combat drug trafficking and does not rule out military action in Venezuela. Previously, US warships, including a missile cruiser and a nuclear-powered attack submarine, had arrived near the coast of Venezuela. The Venezuelan government called these measures provocative actions and an attempt to disrupt regional stability, which openly violated the Declaration of the Latin American and Caribbean Zone of Peace and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Machado wrote on social media X: "Today, we rely more than ever on President Trump, the American people, the people of Latin America, and democratic countries around the world as our main allies in achieving freedom and democracy."
She added that she would dedicate the award to the "suffering people of Venezuela" and "President Trump - thank you for his firm support for our cause," and expressed belief that the Venezuelan opposition would "soon achieve victory."
The Venezuelan authorities have not yet commented on the decision by the Nobel Committee. Venezuelan ruling party member Gilberto Jiménez told Sputnik News that awarding the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to María Corina Machado, a member of the Venezuelan opposition, shows that the prize is becoming a political tool. When asked whether Trump, who was nominated but did not win, deserved the prize, Russian President Vladimir Putin said it was not up to him to decide, but he pointed out that the Nobel Committee has awarded the peace prize to people who have made no contribution to the world on multiple occasions, which seriously undermines the authority of the prize.
Vasily Nebenzya, Russia's permanent representative to the United Nations, stated that Russia "fully supports and stands in solidarity with" the people and government of Venezuela in the context of the US attacking ships near the coast of Venezuela.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1845648562398346/
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