COPENHAGEN, Oct 27 (Reuters) - The Norwegian Nobel Committee said on Tuesday it welcomed the return of opposition leader Maria Corina Machado to Venezuela, saying it hoped her presence would strengthen the democratic opposition and its peaceful campaign for democracy.
Machado, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, was greeted by tens of thousands of supporters on Sunday after 10 months abroad, following several failed return attempts that have strained her ties with US President Donald Trump's administration.
"The committee expresses its hope that her return will strengthen the democratic opposition and its peaceful struggle for democracy," the award body said.
Machado was barred from running against then-President Nicolas Maduro in the 2024 election and left the country after a crackdown on the opposition. The US military captured Maduro in early January and he was replaced by his former vice-president, Delcy Rodríguez.
A few weeks later, Machado gave her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump in recognition of what she called his commitment to the freedom of the Venezuelan people.
Trump thanked Machado for the accolade but has repeatedly said that he himself deserved to receive the prestigious award, calling it disgraceful and embarrassing that the committee chose other candidates.
The awards committee said at the time the prize remains inseparably linked to the person or organisation that won it, though the medal can be given away.
"Much has changed in recent months, but the task remains urgent: Venezuela still requires a democratic transition founded on fundamental rights, political participation and free elections," the committee said on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Louise Rasmussen, editing by Terje Solsvik and Ros Russell)
