Edmundo González, President-elect of Venezuela, and María Corina Machado, Venezuelan opposition leader received the 2025 Courage Award at the 17th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy on February 18th, 2025. Click here to view the presentation of the award by Baroness Sal Brinton.
Full Remarks:
Good afternoon all of you, Excellencies, distinguished members of the Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy,
It is an honor to accept this Courage Award—one that goes beyond me as an individual. It is a testament to the resilience of a people who, in the face of adversity, have chosen not to give in, in the face of adversity, not to stay silent, not to surrender. I share this award with María Corina Machado, whose determination embodies the unbreakable spirit of our nation, and with every Venezuelan who has made courage a way of life.
Courage is not the absence of fear—it is the determination to push forward despite it. And that is exactly what Venezuela has done. After 25 years of threats, Venezuelans have voted on July 28th, raised their voice, and continue to fight today.
The cost of this fight has been steep. Since the elections, more than 2,000 people have been arbitrarily detained. Forced disappearances and arbitrary arrests have become routine tools of persecution. My son-in-law was kidnapped on January 7th and his children—my 7- and 8-year-old grandchildren going to school when he was going to school. To this day, his whereabouts remain unknown. Former presidential candidate Enrique Márquez has also been arbitrarily detained. Human rights defenders like Rocío San Miguel and Javier Tarazona remain imprisoned under inhumane conditions.
Five members of our campaign team have spent more than 300 days seeking refuge in the Argentine embassy in Caracas. Over the past two months, they have faced relentless security force sieges and have been deprived of electricity and access to drinking water. María Corina was intercepted in broad daylight and abducted by security forces in the middle of a public demonstration. Journalists have been persecuted, media outlets shut down, and ordinary citizens imprisoned simply by expressing their desire for change. Each of these cases is not just a personal tragedy—they are part of a deliberate strategy by the regime to instill fear and crush any trace of dissent.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has warned about the use of repression as a state policy, the shrinking of civic space, and the alarming conditions of political prisoners.
Meanwhile, Venezuelan migration, driven by repression and economic collapse, has become the largest humanitarian emergency in the Western Hemisphere. Millions of Venezuelans have sought refuge in neighboring countries and beyond, facing enormous challenges as they struggle to integrate and survive.
In the face of this, the international community cannot remain indifferent. The struggle of the Venezuelan people is not just about our freedom—it is also about protecting democratic stability across our hemisphere.
The recognition we receive today is not a finish line—it is a reminder of the responsibility we all share. It is not just about resistance—it is about building. Building with ideas, with organization, with unity. Building on the memory of what we once were and the certainty of what we can become. Democracy is not a distant promise—it’s a space we must claim through concrete actions, with the conviction of those who know that fear is nothing more than an echo that fades in the face of determination.
There are three urgent and necessary actions that I want to emphasize today:
First, strengthening international pressure.
Second, protecting persecuted Venezuelans.
Third, enforcing international human rights treaties.
The fight for democracy unites us across borders and calls us to rise the sacrifices so many have made. I want to thank the organizations that have made this Summit possible, both inside and outside our country, who continue to stand for freedom. We are not alone— we are not few.
There is still so much work ahead. Democracy must be fought for—and with the support of the free world and unwavering determination of our people, we will prevail.
The recognition is not just an award. It is a commitment. A reminder that our fight for democracy and human rights in Venezuela is our north star.
Thank you for your attention.
Full Remarks:
Dear friends, organizers and distinguished guests at the Geneva Summit.
From Venezuela, I want to express my deepest gratitude to you for recognizing President-elect Edmundo González and me with the Courage Award 2025. The mere fact of being considered here among so many brave people fighting all over the planet to defend freedom, democracy and human rights is a huge honor.
Evidently, the true deserving recipient of this prize is the Venezuelan people. The courage recognized here today is the courage demonstrated by millions of Venezuelan citizens who, on July 28th won an overwhelming victory over a brutal tyranny. That day, Edmundo González obtained more than twice as many votes as Nicolás Maduro, reaching almost 70% support among those who were allowed to vote.
Furthermore, if the regime that oppresses Venezuela today had not used countless arguments to prevent millions of Venezuelans from voting, the gap would have been much greater. This is why it is necessary to value that victory in its fair measure. Anyone who knows today’s Venezuela understands that behind each of those millions of votes lies enormous courage, work, and love. That’s the courage required to overcome censorship, lies, coercion, and threats the autocratic regime poses on every single Venezuelan inside and outside our country. That’s the courage it takes not only to vote but also to defend your votes.
Maduro agreed to compete against Edmundo González because he thought that we the citizens would never be able to prove our victory. He ordered everyone under his command to prevent widespread access of electoral monitors to the original tally sheets printed by the voting machines. But he never anticipated that very high level of organization that our people had to develop on this occasion, hundreds of thousands of brave citizens participating in the collection and publication of the original tally sheets.
To do this, our volunteers and monitors had to overcome all kinds of threats at each voting center, then take the tally sheets to the totalization centers that evaded the surveillance of the autocratic regime. Thanks to these largely anonymous heroes to whom this Courage Award truly belongs, the victory of the Venezuelan democracy is known and recognized worldwide. But by committing to this goal, thousands of Venezuelans and their families took great risks. The Maduro regime does not forgive them for the defeat they inflicted on July 28th and that is why they are now the targets of the true manhunt.
In order to break any citizen resistance, the regime repression forces apply “Sippenhaft,” the persecution of an entire family for the acts of a single individual. The persecution was already merciless before the July 28th elections, the members of our campaign teams know this well. Many of them are in prison, some over a year. Many suffered forced disappearances and torture, including the son-in-law of our president-elect, on which more are in hiding or exile while my closest collaborators remain as hostages in the Argentinian embassy. This group survives a brutal siege day by day while they are denied the safe conduct required by international treaties.
The post-electoral repression has been even more brutal. More than 2,000 Venezuelans have joined those, who for political reasons, suffer human rights violations and crimes against humanity: children, teenagers, women, the elderly, the disabled. No one is safe from this savage repression. In spite of that, the courage of Venezuelan democracy is infinite because our fight is just and necessary.
We have managed to unite a country tearing down the barriers the regime built to divide us. Ours is a fight of a nation united against a criminal tyranny, in defense of its human rights, freedom, and democracy. That is why we have no alternative but victory. We will continue fighting until the end, until justice reigns again in Venezuela and we can bring our kids back home. We have come such a long way, Maduro’s regime today is isolated, internationally, rejected, nationally, and divided within. Venezuelans are determined to defend our July 28th mandate on our Constitution and popular sovereignty and force.
Yes, we’re facing the most dangerous and challenging hours. We are prepared and determined, and we know that we are not alone, as all of you have proven today, Venezuela will be free, this fight is until the end.
Thank you.
17th Annual Geneva Summit for Human Rights and Democracy, U.N. Opening, Monday, February 17, 2025
Key Quotes from the Keynote Address:
“Less than a year ago, I was just another Venezuelan citizen, holding onto the hope of seeing my country regain democracy. Today, I stand before you as an elected president of Venezuela, chosen by the overwhelming majority of the Venezuelan people on July 28th.”
“Despite censorship, intimidation, violence against the opposition, and attempts to prevent citizens from voting, the desire of change was expressed with undeniable force.”
“Each case of arbitrary detention deeply affects us, but one, in particular, has struck my family directly—the forced disappearance of my son-in-law, Rafael Tudares. This is an act of repression, persecution, and intimidation that reflects impunity with which the regime operates.”
“Every day, my daughter goes from detention center to another, from one torture facility to the next, searching for her husband.”
“To all the countries represented at this summit—to those who today raise their voice against oppression in Iran, Sudan, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Afghanistan, and so many other nations where justice remains a constant battle—your resistance is also our resistance. We share the pain of those who suffer persecution, but we also share the conviction that justice and truth must prevail. History has shown that change is inevitable when people rise with courage and determination.”
“The history of my country is one of resistance—but also of hope. We are a people who, despite oppression, have never stopped fighting for freedom, democracy, and human rights. Today, more than ever, Venezuelans have given a clear mandate: we want change, we want democracy, and we want to reclaim our freedom.”
“Change will come. Justice will come. And we will not rest until we achieve it.”
