Venezuelan opposition leader gives Trump her Nobel Peace Prize
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado on Thursday gave her Nobel Peace Prize medal to U.S. President Donald Trump during a meeting at the White House.
Ms Machado said her gesture was a recognition of Mr Trump’s commitment to Venezuela’s freedom.
“I think today is a historic day for us Venezuelans,” Ms Machado said after meeting Mr Trump in person for the first time, weeks after U.S. forces seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas and charged him in a drug-trafficking case.
After her meeting at the White House, Ms Machado spoke to supporters gathered outside the gates, telling them in Spanish, “We can count on President Trump,” according to the Associated Press.
“I presented the president of the United States the medal of the Nobel Peace Prize,” Ms Machado later told journalists, calling it “a recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom”.
In response, Mr Trump expressed his gratitude in a social media post, saying the move was “a wonderful gesture of mutual respect”.
Despite their meeting, Mr Trump did not endorse Ms Machado, who claimed victory in Venezuela’s widely contested 2024 election, as Venezuela’s new leader.
The U.S. president has instead been dealing with Delcy Rodríguez, the acting head of state in Venezuela, who was Mr Maduro’s vice-president.
Meanwhile, the Nobel Committee had clarified that it was not transferable. “Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others,” the committee said in a statement last week. “The decision is final and stands for all time.”
Before Ms Machado and Mr Trump’s White House meeting on Thursday, the Nobel Peace Centre posted on X that “a medal can change owners, but the title of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate cannot”.
Since Mr Maduro was abducted on January 3, Mr Trump’s administration has moved quickly to remake Venezuela’s oil sector, which had been under U.S. sanctions.
On Wednesday, an American official said the U.S. had completed its first oil sale to Venezuela, valued at $500 million (£373 million).
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