Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday for her pro-democracy work in Venezuela.

She led millions of voters to reject President Nicolas Maduro during last year’s presidential election.

Machado was blocked by Maduro loyalists from running in last year’s presidential election.

But her surrogate, retired ambassador Edmundo Gonzalez, defeated Maduro by a landslide according to voting records verified by international experts.

Still, ruling party-loyal electoral authorities declared Maduro the winner of the election.

Machado, Gonzalez and hundreds of others who participated in opposition efforts last year have since faced brutal government repression.

Machado herself has not been seen in public since January as she has sheltered at an undisclosed location in Venezuela to avoid arrest.

Machado’s leadership is undeniable, but her support has been decreasing since January, when Maduro was sworn-in for a third term and a general disappointment set in among voters.

AP video by Lucas Dumphreys, Juan Pablo Arraez, Andry Rincón and Fernanda Pesce.