Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, the first Hispanic to win the Václav Havel Human Rights Prize

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado won the Council of Europe's Václav Havel Prize on Monday. Machado is the first Hispanic to win this award, which recognizes her work defending human rights.

"The meaning of this award is immense, not only for me, but for all those who today fight together for the cause of freedom in Venezuela," Machado said in a video call.

Her daughter Ana Corina Sosa received the award on behalf of her mother. It was presented to her by the president of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, Theodoros Rousopoulos, during its plenary session in Strasbourg.

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe posted on its X account, "CONGRATULATIONS to Venezuelan political leader and rights defender María Corina Machado, who has just been awarded the 2024 Václav Havel Human Rights Prize!" 

The 56-year-old opponent played a key role in Venezuela's presidential election in July. The Venezuelan opposition has shown official electoral records that show that Edmundo González Urrutia, the candidate backed by Machado, won the election with more than 60% of the votes. However, the Venezuelan dictatorship refuses to recognize the opposition's triumph.

"In response to this resounding defeat, the regime has reacted brutally. Thousands of my fellow citizens, including women and children, have been arrested and tortured. Hundreds of comrades have been mistreated or have had to go into exile," she said.

Machado stressed that Venezuelans have overwhelmingly expressed that they are in favor of a political change. "Today our struggle continues, because the truth persists until it prevails," she said.