Venezuelan opposition leader gives her Nobel Peace Prize to Donald Trump at White House

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has followed through on her promise to present Donald Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize during their closed-door meeting to discuss the future of her country.

The US president met with Machado on Thursday (January 15), when she was welcomed to the White House for the meeting, which comes almost two weeks after the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.

In Maduro’s absence, the Vice President of Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, has assumed interim control of the country under US oversight, but many have suggested that opposition leader Machado may be a more suitable alternative if she can receive support in-country and from the US.

Fostering a good relationship with President Trump and his cabinet is therefore vital if she wishes to assume command, and ‘sharing’ her Nobel Peace Prize could bring her dreams one step closer to fruition.

The US president met with María Corina Machado on Thursday (Demetrius Freeman/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Speaking to the press after her meeting, Machado told Fox News: “I presented the President of the United States the medal, the peace, the Nobel Peace Prize.”

She then went on to explain that the priceless gift had been in recognition of Trump’s ‘unique commitment with our freedom’.

Taking to Truth Social, Trump penned: “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!”

Regardless of the intent, however, the Nobel Prize Committee, who are responsible for selecting and awarding the all-important Peace Prize, affirmed their stance earlier this month that the award ‘cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others’.

She gave her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Donald Trump (Daniel Torok/The White House via Getty Images)

“The Norwegian Nobel Committee and the Norwegian Nobel Institute receive a number of requests for comments regarding the permanence of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s status,” read a January 9 statement from the committee. “The facts are clear and well established. Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others. The decision is final and stands for all time.”

Machado was awarded the Nobel Prize back in October 2025 for her ‘tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela’ and ‘her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy’.

Machado greets crowds following her meeting with Trump (Drew ANGERER / AFP via Getty Images)

The decision to recognise her achievements, however, came as a brutal blow to Trump, who had himself been hoping to receive the Peace Prize for ‘negotiating solutions to multiple unending wars’.

Accepting the award may even have hampered her chances of becoming Venezuela’s next president, according to sources close to Trump, with one even suggesting her initial acceptance of the prize was an ‘ultimate sin’ in an interview with The Washington Post.

“If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” the source said.

Up until now, for his part, Trump hasn’t expressed the most confidence in her ability to govern the South American nation.

When asked directly whether he thought she would be a suitable candidate, he said ‘it’d be very tough for her’ to lead, claiming she ‘doesn’t have the support or the respect within the country’.

UNILAD has contacted the White House for comment.