María Corina Machado Wins Nobel Peace Prize — And Rubio’s Hand Is All Over It

The next cabinet meeting will be very awkward for the Secretary of State

The Nobel Peace Prize this year went to Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado.

She’s been one of the toughest critics of Nicolás Maduro’s dictatorship. For years, she’s pushed for free elections and democracy in Venezuela. She co-founded an election watchdog group, ran for office, and was later banned from politics. When she tried to run for president last year, the regime barred her — but she kept organizing the opposition anyway.

So it’s a major moment for her — and for Venezuela’s pro-democracy movement.

But here’s where it gets awkward.

Back on August 26, 2024, Marco Rubio — then still a senator — joined several Florida Republicans in signing a letter to the Nobel Committee. The letter urged them to give the Peace Prize to Machado. He called her “the personification of resilience, tenacity, and patriotism.”

A few months later, Rubio became Secretary of State under President Trump.

That makes this year’s announcement a little uncomfortable — because Trump himself has been campaigning hard to win the Nobel Peace Prize.

He’s claimed he deserves it for Middle East and North Korea diplomacy. His campaign team even mentioned it in fundraising pitches.

Now, instead of Trump, the honor goes to someone Rubio publicly pushed for — before taking a top job in Trump’s Cabinet.

That’s what makes this politically tricky.

Rubio’s earlier support now looks like pre-game lobbying. And Trump’s team, who wanted that Nobel moment for him, now have to watch the prize go to someone backed by his own Secretary of State.

Still, Machado’s win is a huge story on its own. She’s spent decades fighting for democracy under threat of arrest and violence.

And now she’s the Nobel laureate who just made life in Washington a little more awkward for Marco Rubio — and his boss.