Venezuelan opposition leader presents her Nobel peace prize medal to Trump After White House meeting

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has presented the gold medal from her Nobel Peace Prize to US President Donald Trump following a meeting at the White House, nearly two weeks after Trump ordered the capture of Venezuela’s ousted president, Nicolás Maduro.

“It was my Great Honor to meet María Corina Machado, of Venezuela, today. She is a wonderful woman who has been through so much. María presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you María!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, Caliber.Az reports. 

Machado, who received the Nobel Peace Prize last year for her struggle against Maduro’s “brutal, authoritarian state,” told reporters on January 15 that she had presented the medal to Trump “in recognition [of] his unique commitment [to] our freedom.”

A photograph later released by the White House showed Trump standing beside the framed medal. Beneath it, an inscription read: “Presented as a personal symbol of gratitude on behalf of the Venezuelan people in recognition of President Trump’s principled and decisive action to secure a free Venezuela.”

Earlier in the day, Nobel Prize organisers addressed the gesture on social media, writing on X: “A medal can change owners, but the title of a Nobel peace prize laureate cannot.”

The White House lunch meeting, which lasted slightly more than an hour, marked the first in-person encounter between Trump and Machado. Following the meeting, Machado met with more than a dozen Republican and Democratic senators on Capitol Hill, where she has generally received stronger backing.

Speaking before the meeting, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters Trump was looking forward to “a good and positive discussion” with Machado, who she called “a remarkable and brave voice for many of the people of Venezuela”. Trump hoped to discuss “the realities on the ground” in Venezuela.

Leavitt said Rodríguez and other key members of her “interim administration” were in constant communication with their US counterparts and were being “extremely cooperative”.

“They have thus far met all the demands and the requests of the United States and of the president,” she said, pointing to the release of five US citizens from Venezuelan jails this week.

Leavitt said Trump was committed to “hopefully” seeing fresh elections in Venezuela “one day”. “But I don’t have an updated timetable for you today,” she added.

Machado’s movement is widely believed to have defeated Maduro in Venezuela’s disputed 2024 election. However, she was unexpectedly sidelined earlier this month after US special forces captured her political rival during an overnight operation on January 3.

Opposition supporters had hoped Trump would recognise the 58-year-old conservative politician as Venezuela’s new leader following Maduro’s removal. Instead, Trump endorsed Maduro’s second-in-command, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, who was subsequently sworn in as acting president.

Earlier this week, the Norwegian Nobel Institute reiterated that the Nobel Peace Prize could not be “shared or transferred” after Machado told Fox News she wished to “share” it with Trump.

“The decision is final and stands for all time,” the institute said.

Trump has previously campaigned openly for the Nobel Peace Prize and complained publicly after being passed over before Machado received the award. Despite accepting the medal, the Nobel Institute has emphasised that the honour remains solely Machado’s and cannot be transferred, shared, or revoked.

Asked on January 14 whether he wanted Machado to give him the prize, Trump told Reuters: "No, I didn't say that. She won the Nobel Peace Prize."

The Republican president has long expressed interest in winning the award and has at times linked it to diplomatic achievements.

By Sabina Mammadli