On October 10, 2025, in Oslo, María Corina Machado receives the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her non-violent struggle for free elections in Venezuela. In the following days, a call with Benjamin Netanyahu (October 17–18) and criticisms from Gustavo Petro (October 11) disrupt her victory. Between democratic hope and alliance games, this prize reshuffles the cards in Caracas and on the international stage.
An Awarded Voice, a Call to Netanyahu that Sheds Light
The scene takes place in mid-October 2025. On the other end of the line, Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel, congratulates María Corina Machado, leader of the Venezuelan opposition and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. The Prime Minister’s office states that she "appreciated the decisions and actions" taken during the war. Additionally, she appreciated the agreement on the hostages. From the laureate’s side, the public communication emphasizes thanks, a call for peace, and the reference to Donald Trump’s plan mentioned by Machado for the Middle East. Two narratives coexist, immediately revealing the framing battle surrounding this Nobel.
A High-Tension Award
On October 10, 2025, the Norwegian Nobel Committee celebrates Machado for a peaceful struggle for free elections, the defense of the rule of law, and the ability to unite a fragmented opposition in Venezuela. The official text emphasizes civic courage and the maintenance of a non-violent commitment despite a repressive environment. The icon is born from this international recognition. However, it arrives at a time when foreign policy immediately filters the reading of the prize. Additionally, war communication and geopolitical alignments also influence this perception.
In Venezuela, the situation remains volatile. The laureate remains under judicial and security pressure, anchored in secrecy according to her close associates. Furthermore, the state apparatus closely controls political life. In this context, the Nobel acts as a symbolic shield and a global loudspeaker. It does not, by itself, change the balance of power, but it reshapes the agenda and offers a rare capital of attention.
A Look Back at a Journey: From Primaries to International Emblem
Machado asserts herself on the national stage during the 2023 primaries, which she transforms into a tool for unifying a divided opposition. She chooses to remain in the country, despite the risks. This consistency fuels her legitimacy: the Nobel Committee presents her as a figure of democratic resilience.
Before the Nobel, she accumulated a symbolic capital with European distinctions: the Václav Havel Prize 2024 from the Council of Europe, then the Sakharov Prize 2024 from the European Parliament. These awards, consecrating human rights and freedoms, have placed Machado in a transnational narrative valuing non-violence and the rule of law.
The Call to Netanyahu: An Assumed Divergence of Version
On October 17–18, 2025, a telephone conversation between Machado and Netanyahu crystallizes the ambiguities. The Israeli Prime Minister’s office reports praiseworthy remarks on the conduct of the war. Additionally, it mentions the agreement on the hostages. On her side, Machado publicly thanks for the congratulations received and associates regional stability with the Donald Trump plan mentioned by Machado. The discrepancy is not anecdotal: it touches the heart of the laureate’s international positioning and the political use of her new stature.
In the media ecosystem, these words spread differently according to the information repertoires. The repeated mention of the Trump plan gives the Nobel an unintentional partisan dimension: whether she wants it or not, the laureate becomes a reference for alliances that go beyond the Venezuelan framework.
The Communication Workshop: Visual Sobriety, Ethos of Courage
Machado’s iconography is austere: plain background, direct lighting, restrained gestures. The vocabulary favors notions of moral value, courage, and peaceful struggle. The objective is clear: to credibilize the path of a strategist who acts without exile.
In her interventions, key dates and figures (primaries, 2023; European prizes, 2024; Nobel, 2025) serve as landmarks. The narrative is structured around perseverance, unity, and non-violence. The call to Netanyahu is inserted into this storytelling: it is reconfigured as a protocol sequence and a conversation of principles, rather than as operational support.
Mapping Influences: Washington, Jerusalem, Europe
The triangle of influence that emerges connects Washington, Jerusalem, and Europe. In the United States, the mention of Donald Trump is not by chance: the American right remains a reservoir of support for opponents of Chavismo. In Israel, the image benefit of an exchange with a new Nobel fits into a war context. Furthermore, it is linked to the hostage negotiations. In Europe, the Havel–Sakharov consecration has laid institutional foundations that give Machado a base beyond her Venezuelan roots.
This network explains the speed with which the Nobel–call–reactions sequence has internationalized. It also highlights a paradox: a figure acclaimed for her peaceful action finds herself associated with alliances marked by a rhetoric of power.
Criticisms from Gustavo Petro after the Nobel
On October 11, 2025, Gustavo Petro, President of Colombia, publishes a series of criticisms targeting the awarding of the Nobel. He notably cites a letter dated 2018, addressed to Benjamin Netanyahu and other leaders, where Machado allegedly sought support for a government change in Venezuela. For Petro, this initiative questions the coherence of a prize dedicated to peace and non-interference.
This counter-narrative relies on a principle: distinguishing internal civic resistance from a search for alliances that could overstep sovereignty. The strength of the argument lies less in the letter itself than in its appearance during the post-Nobel timing. Moreover, in this context, any trace of alignment acquires a multiplied value.
Peace, Power, and the Gray Lines
At the heart of the controversy is a classic tension: how to carry a peace narrative in a world structured by power relations? Machado’s argument, as it emerges from statements and public declarations, places democracy and rights as preconditions for stability. The critics argue that the insistence on politico-security alliances in the Middle East blurs this message.
The discrepancy over the precise content of the call with Netanyahu illustrates this gray line. It may stem from a difference in interpretation or a narrative adaptation to different audiences. In both cases, it reminds us that information, especially in times of conflict, is mediated by offices, newsrooms, and networks that select what circulates.
What the Nobel Changes (or Not) for Venezuela
The Nobel offers Machado a relative protection: an increased political cost for those who repress her, a multiplied media access, new interlocutors. However, it does not guarantee free elections or alternation. In Caracas, the security apparatus and the legal framework remain determinant.
In the short term, this prize strengthens a coalition of external and internal support. In the medium term, it will require the laureate to clarify her relationship with the international alliances mentioned in recent days. The credibility of her peaceful narrative will depend on this coherence: resist in Venezuela, dialogue abroad, avoid lending flank to the accusation of instrumentalization.
A Laureate Tested by Alliances
The Machado case exposes the constraints of international distinctions in the era of live wars and networks. A civic heroine in Venezuela, a courted interlocutor abroad, she now carries a narrative where peace and power intersect. Her room for maneuver will depend on her ability to hold together non-violence, pluralism, and independence. Moreover, she will need to remain independent of the influence campaigns that aggregate around her.