Venezuela’s Maria Corina Machado Gifts Nobel Peace Prize Medal to Donald Trump

Venezuela’s opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has said that she gifted her Nobel Peace Prize medal to United States President Donald Trump.

She handed over the gift to President Trump during a private meeting at the White House on Thursday.

Machado said, “I think today is a historic day for us Venezuelans.”

The BBC wrote that this was Machado’s first direct meeting with Trump. The meeting took place several weeks after U.S. forces detained Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas and brought him to trial on drug trafficking charges.

In a social media post, Trump expressed gratitude and said that the gesture was “a wonderful example of mutual respect.”

However, the U.S. President has refused to support Machado as Venezuela’s new leader. Machado-led movements had claimed victory in the highly controversial 2024 election.

Instead, Trump is working with Venezuela’s current interim head of state Delcy Rodríguez, who is Maduro’s former vice president.

Nevertheless, Trump said that meeting Machado was “a great honor” for him. He called her “an extraordinary woman who has been through a lot.”

After leaving the White House, Machado told supporters gathered outside in Spanish, “We can trust President Trump.”

Later, speaking to journalists in English, she said, “I gave the Nobel Peace Prize medal to the President of the United States. It is a recognition of his unique commitment to our freedom.”

Trump has been eager to win the Nobel Peace Prize. Last year, when Machado received the honor, the U.S. President expressed dissatisfaction.

The BBC contacted the White House for comment on the matter, but has not yet received a response.

Machado said last week that she would share the prize with Trump. However, the Nobel Committee has clearly stated that the prize is not transferable.

In a statement, the committee said, “Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to anyone else. This decision is final and permanent.”

After Machado handed over her medal, when the committee was asked for a reaction, it reminded the BBC of its earlier statement.

Before Thursday’s White House meeting, the Nobel Peace Center said in a post on X, “Ownership of a medal can change, but the title of Nobel Peace Prize laureate cannot.”

Machado referred to how Marquis de Lafayette, who participated in the American War of Independence, gifted a medal bearing George Washington’s portrait to Simón Bolívar, one of the founders of modern Venezuela.

She said that the gift symbolized brotherhood in the fight against oppression for independence between her country and the United States.

She said, “Two hundred years later, Bolívar’s people are returning a medal to Washington’s successor—in this case, a Nobel Peace Prize medal—in recognition of his unique commitment to our freedom.”

During her Washington visit, Machado also went to Congress and met U.S. senators. While speaking to journalists there, supporters chanted “María, Presidente” and waved Venezuelan flags.

The BBC wrote that it was assumed Machado would try to convince Trump during their meeting that supporting Rodríguez’s interim government was a wrong decision and that leadership of the transition should be in the hands of her opposition coalition.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters during the meeting on Thursday that Machado is an extraordinary and courageous voice for many Venezuelans. Trump had been looking forward to the meeting and hoped for an open and positive discussion about Venezuela’s current reality.

Although Trump previously described Machado as a “freedom fighter,” he rejected the idea of placing her in Venezuela’s leadership after Maduro’s removal. Trump argued that Machado does not have sufficient support in Venezuela.