The Hoover Institution is honored to announce that María Corina Machado, leader of Venezuela’s democratic movement and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate 2025, will join Choosing Freedom: Courage, Exile, and the Human Pursuit of Liberty as our featured speaker on Wednesday, June 17.

One of the world’s leading voices for democracy and human freedom, Machado has led Venezuela’s democratic movement through years of repression and political persecution. After winning the opposition primary in 2023, she was barred from running by Nicolás Maduro’s regime and later forced into hiding. Awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2025, she continues to champion freedom and democratic change for the Venezuelan people.