Venezuela's Maduro calls Nobel winner Machado 'demonic witch'

CARACAS - Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro on Sunday branded opposition leader Maria Corina Machado a "demonic witch," two days after she won the Nobel Peace Prize.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee had named Machado as the winner, citing the 58-year-old's "tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy."

The United States has long opposed the leftist Venezuelan leader's rule, and under President Donald Trump has deployed warships in Caribbean waters off Venezuela.

Maduro has accused Machado of calling for a foreign invasion.

"Ninety percent of the population rejects the demonic witch," Maduro said, without directly mentioning Machado or commenting on his political rival being awarded the prestigious prize.

The government often refers to her as "la sayona," a word that evokes a spirit in Venezuelan folklore who, like the opposition leader, has white skin and straight black hair.

"We want peace, and we will have peace, but peace with freedom, with sovereignty,"Maduro said at an event commemorating the discovery of the Americas, celebrated in Venezuela as "Indigenous Resistance Day."

Machado supports US military maneuvers in nearby waters. She dedicated her Nobel prize "to the suffering people of Venezuela" and to Trump, who also was nominated for the award.

During an appearance Saturday on Fox News, Machado hailed Trump.

He "deserves" the award, she said, "because not only has he been involved in resolving eight wars in just a few months, but his actions have been decisive in bringing Venezuela to the threshold of freedom."