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Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro launched a verbal attack on opposition leader María Corina Machado on Sunday, labelling her a “demonic witch” just two days after she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee honoured the 58-year-old Machado for her “tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.”
The United States, under President Donald Trump, has long opposed Maduro’s leftist government and has previously stationed warships in the Caribbean near Venezuela. Maduro has accused Machado of encouraging foreign intervention in the country.
“Ninety percent of the population rejects the demonic witch,” Maduro said, avoiding any direct mention of Machado by name or acknowledging her Nobel Prize win. The government frequently refers to her as “la sayona” — a reference to a ghostly figure in Venezuelan folklore known for her pale complexion and long black hair, resembling the opposition leader.
Speaking at an event marking the discovery of the Americas, observed in Venezuela as “Indigenous Resistance Day,” Maduro declared: “We want peace, and we will have peace — but peace with freedom, with sovereignty.”
Machado, who has backed US military exercises near Venezuelan waters, dedicated her Nobel Peace Prize “to the suffering people of Venezuela” and to Trump, who was also nominated for the award. Appearing on Fox News on Saturday, she praised the former US president, saying he “deserves” the honour for helping to resolve “eight wars in just a few months” and for playing a decisive role in bringing Venezuela “to the threshold of freedom.”
