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Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Donald Trump on Thursday, but failed to secure any concessions as Washington continues to work with the remainder of Nicolás Maduro’s government in Caracas.
Machado, who Trump said had “no support” inside Venezuela following the operation that ousted Maduro on January 3, met the US president at the White House in a bid to boost her standing as Washington has piled praise on Maduro’s socialist successor, Delcy Rodríguez.
However, Trump spoke more positively of Machado on Thursday.
“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!” he posted on Truth Social hours after she left the White House.
Trump is known to covet the Nobel Peace Prize, saying it would be a “big insult” were he not to receive it because he has “ended seven wars”. Still, despite presenting him with her medal, the opposition leader appeared to walk away empty-handed.
Greeting supporters outside the US Capitol later on Thursday, Machado said she offered Trump her medal “in recognition of his steadfast commitment to our freedom”.
“The president understands very well what is happening in Venezuela and fully grasps our country’s potential as a strong ally of the United States,” Machado said in a statement.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said that owning the medal does not make Trump a Nobel Prize winner: “Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others. The decision is final and stands for all time.”
Other Peace Prize medals have changed owners, including that won by Russian journalist Dmitry Muratov in 2021, which was sold at auction for $103.5mn to raise money for Ukrainian child refugees.
Many in Norway criticised Machado’s gift.
“This is unbelievably embarrassing and damaging for one of the world’s most recognised and important prizes. The awarding of the prize is now so politicised and potentially dangerous that it could easily legitimise an anti-Peace Prize movement,” said Raymond Johansen, a former politician and head of Norwegian People’s Aid.
Speaking at the White House while Trump’s meeting with Machado was under way, press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president was “expecting it to be a good and positive discussion”.
Leavitt described Machado as a “remarkable and brave voice for many of the people of Venezuela”, but stood by Trump’s previous comments about the opposition leader’s lack of support inside the country. “At this moment in time, his opinion on that matter has not changed,” she said.
Machado also met Republican and Democratic lawmakers on Capitol Hill after her lunch with Trump.
Machado, the English-speaking daughter of a wealthy steel magnate, enjoys widespread popular support in Venezuela, where she is nicknamed the “Iron Lady”, but is loathed by the regime’s power brokers.
Machado was banned from running in the 2024 election against Maduro. A parallel vote count based on independently verified voting tally receipts showed that her stand-in, Edmundo González, was the contest’s winner by a margin of two to one, rather than Maduro, who claimed victory. The US recognised González’s victory.
Maduro’s regime launched a crackdown on dissent following the polls. Machado went into hiding in Venezuela, while González fled to Spain. She escaped Venezuela with US support last month to collect her Nobel Prize in Oslo and has not returned since.
Trump spoke with Rodríguez on Monday in what he described as a “very good call”. He has backed the life-long leftist to help usher in US investment into Venezuela’s oil sector.
“We are making tremendous progress, as we help Venezuela stabilise and recover,” he wrote on social media.
As Machado was meeting with lawmakers, Rodríguez announced a reform of Venezuela’s hydrocarbon law and said two funds would be created to manage the proceeds from oil sales.
The funds would “allow investment flows to be incorporated into new fields where there has never been investment and where there is no infrastructure”, Rodriguez told lawmakers in Caracas.
Additional reporting by Steff Chávez and Lauren Fedor in Washington
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