By Zoila Palma: Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said she presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to U.S. President Donald Trump during a meeting at the White House on Thursday, calling the gesture a symbol of gratitude for his role in ousting Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro.
Machado said she offered the medal despite Trump having questioned her ability to lead Venezuela and signaling openness to working with interim President Delcy Rodríguez, a former top ally of Maduro, AP reports.
“I presented the president of the United States the medal, the Nobel Peace Prize,” Machado told reporters after leaving the White House, describing it as recognition of Trump’s “unique commitment with our freedom.”
Trump later confirmed on social media that Machado had left the medal with him, calling the meeting an honor and praising her resilience.
The White House also released a photo showing Trump holding the framed medal in the Oval Office.
The symbolic gesture drew attention because the Nobel Institute has said Machado cannot formally transfer the prize, and because Trump has effectively sidelined her politically.
While the president has spoken favorably of Machado personally, he has publicly expressed doubts about her domestic support and leadership prospects, even as her party is widely believed to have won Venezuela’s disputed 2024 election.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the meeting did not signal a change in Trump’s assessment, calling it a “realistic” view of Venezuela’s political landscape.
Machado said her discussion with Trump included Venezuela’s political future, but she offered few details and said she received no clear commitment on when new elections might be held.
After the meeting, she addressed cheering supporters outside the White House, telling them, “We can count on President Trump,” prompting chants of thanks.
