Cato's 2008 Milton Friedman Liberty Prize

Congratulations to this year's Milton Friedman Liberty Prize winner Yon Goicoechea, the brave Venezuelan student leader instrumental in thwarting Hugo Chavez's most recent power grab. The AP has details:

A U.S.-based think tank has awarded a $500,000 prize to the leader of a student protest movement that has posed a potent challenge to Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

University student Yon Goicoechea became a household name in Venezuela last year when he led peaceful protests that were widely cited as a key factor in the defeat of sweeping constitutional changes proposed by Chavez.

The Washington-based Cato Institute said it will announce the 23-year-old as winner of the Milton Friedman Prize for Advancing Liberty on Thursday.
[…]
"He managed to effectively give voice to millions of Venezuelans who believed in democracy, tolerance and modernity, and who felt that they were being left out of politics," said Ian Vasquez, director of the institute's Center for Global Liberty and Prosperity.

Goicoechea's $500,000 prize (!) will be awarded next month at a ceremony in Manhattan.

Full details from Cato.org here.