Venezuela opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said she gifted the Nobel Peace Prize to President Donald Trump during a closed-door lunch the two leaders held on Thursday.
“I presented the president of the United States the medal — the Nobel Peace Prize,” Machado told reporters Thursday afternoon. “And I told him this, listen to this: ‘Two hundred years ago, General Lafayette gave Simón Bolívar a medal with George Washington’s face on it. Bolivar, since then, kept that medal for the rest of his life. Actually, when you see his portraits, you can see the medal there.”
“It was given by Gen. Lafayette as a sign of the brotherhood between the United States and the people of Venezuela in their fight for freedom against tyranny,” she said. “And 200 years in history, the people of Bolivar are giving back to the heir of Washington a medal, in this case a medal of Nobel Peace Prize, and the recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom.”
Trump has made it public his desire for the Nobel Prize and has often touted his involvement in negotiating peace deals among feuding nations. However, a spokesperson for the committee told the Washington Examiner that “A Nobel Prize can neither be revoked nor transferred to others. Once the announcement of the laureate(s) has been made, the decision stands for all time. As for the prize money, the laureate(s) are free to dispose of it as they see fit.”
Machado, a 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner, previously offered to give the award to Trump as she seeks to become the next president of Venezuela. But Trump appeared not impressed by her leadership, telling reporters earlier this month that “She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect within the country.”
“I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader,” he said.
Just a few weeks later, Machado sounded positive after leaving the White House Thursday. “Know that we can count on President Trump for the freedom of Venezuela,” she said.
Trump’s Jan. 3 capture of former Venezuelan ruler Nicolas Maduro and his wife has upended the Latin American country’s oil industry. The president claimed the U.S. will need to have control over Venezuela for the next 18 months and expressed support for acting Venezuelan President Delcy Rodriguez.
As opposition leader, Machado has spent most of the past year in hiding until she accepted the Nobel in Norway last month following her escape from Venezuela. After she met with Trump, Machado then met with lawmakers on Capitol Hill, including Sens. Dick Durbin (D-IL), Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH), Rick Scott (R-FL), John Curtis (R-UT), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Mitch McConnell (R-KY), and Chris Murphy (D-CT).
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters earlier on Thursday that the president was expecting the meeting with Machado “to be a good and positive discussion,” and he looked forward to “talking to her about the realities on the ground in the country and what is taking place.”
Leavitt also said that the president did not have expectations that Machado would convince him to commit to a timeline for elections.
“I don’t think he needs to hear anything from Ms. Machado,” she said. “I think generally, this is a meeting that the president was willing to take and willing to accept to meet Ms. Machado in person and to just have a frank and positive discussion about what’s taking place in Venezuela.”
The opposition leader attempted to convey to Trump the “gratitude of the Venezuelan people for his unwavering support for democracy and justice in the country,” according to the opposition leader’s press office. She also asked Trump to “advocate for the release of all political prisoners.”
Trump called Machado a “very nice woman” during an interview with Reuters on Wednesday. “I think we’re just going to talk basics,” Trump also told Reuters ahead of their meeting.
Machado’s visit to Washington also follows a private meeting Machado held with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Monday.
Despite Trump’s acceptance of Rodriguez’s leadership over Machado, the U.S. seized its sixth Venezuelan oil tanker, named Veronica, on Thursday in the early hours, U.S. Southern Command confirmed. The U.S. also completed its first sale of Venezuelan oil, valued at $500 million.
But Leavitt also told reporters that the administration has been in constant communication with Rodriguez and other members of the interim government in Venezuela.
“They have been extremely cooperative. They have thus far met all of the demands and requests of the United States and of the president,” she said.
Ramsey Touchberry contributed to this report.
