December 10, 2025, International Human Rights Day, marks a glorious and historic day for Venezuela.

From Venezuelans and Immigrants Aid (VIA), we raise our voices with strength and emotion as the world honors a Venezuelan with the Nobel Peace Prize, a powerful recognition of decades of peaceful, civic, and collective resistance against an authoritarian regime.

This is not just an award for one individual. It is a tribute to the millions of Venezuelans who have resisted unarmed, with dignity, despite exile, imprisonment, repression, and forced silence. Many of them—those who had to flee our country for denouncing the regime and standing with the persecuted—are now part of our organization.

“This is a civic and democratic achievement by the Venezuelan people. It is yet another proof that human rights, truth, and memory do matter.”

The Nobel Peace Prize awarded to María Corina Machado proves that it is possible to craft a clear and truthful narrative, free from the propaganda of a regime that has tried to sell repression as peace. Today, that lie collapses, along with cynical rhetoric, false neutrality, and complicit silence.

The world now sees what we have denounced for years: a regime that has forced more than 9 million people into exile, keeps 25 million more in fear and hunger, and is currently under investigation by the International Criminal Court for crimes against humanity.

At VIA, we will not remain silent. We will continue doing what we know how to do: shining a light, standing with those affected, denouncing abuses, and raising awareness. Because human rights guide us toward justice—and justice is the only path to real and lasting peace.

Today, we celebrate and renew our unwavering commitment to truth, memory, and freedom.

Niurka Meléndez & Héctor Arguinzones
Co-Founders and Co-Directors
Venezuelans and Immigrants Aid (VIA)