In a remarkable display of international solidarity, supporters of Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado staged coordinated demonstrations across global cities on Saturday, anticipating next week’s Nobel Peace Prize ceremony where she will be honored. Thousands of activists marched through urban centers including Madrid, Utrecht, Buenos Aires, and Lima, leveraging the prestigious award’s platform to amplify Venezuela’s democratic aspirations under Nicolás Maduro’s regime.
In Lima, protesters clutching portraits of Machado and draped in Venezuela’s national colors demanded a ‘Free Venezuela,’ brandishing signs proclaiming ‘The Nobel Prize Belongs to Venezuela.’ Verónica Durán, a Venezuelan exile residing in Peru for eight years, emphasized that the recognition ‘represents all Venezuelans—the fallen and political prisoners in their struggle to restore democracy.’
Colombian gatherings featured white-clad participants holding balloons during religious ceremonies praying for the prize to become ‘a symbol of hope.’ Buenos Aires witnessed approximately 500 demonstrators conducting an improvised torchlight vigil using mobile phones at Argentina’s largest university law faculty.
The global mobilization occurs amid escalating tensions as the Trump administration reinforces military presence in the Caribbean, threatening Venezuelan territory. Maduro perceives these maneuvers as attempts to destabilize his government, while opposition factions rejuvenate promises to soon govern the nation.
Machado, awarded the prize on October 10 for sustaining democratic hopes ‘amid deepening darkness,’ remains in hiding since her brief detention during a Caracas protest on January 9. Her disqualification from last year’s presidential election led to substitute candidate Edmundo González—now seeking asylum in Spain following an arrest warrant—challenging Maduro’s controversial third-term inauguration despite documented electoral irregularities and widespread human rights violations during the July 2024 elections.