Venezuela opposition leader Machado presents her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump
By Anjali Sharma
WASHINGTON – Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on Thursday met US President Donald Trump at the White House and offered her Nobel medal as Venezuelan supporters rallied, called for stronger US action after Nicolas Maduro’s captured by the US.
Machado met Trump at the White House face-to-face since the US-led operation that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
White House officials said that the meeting took place behind closed doors over lunch at the White House’s Private Dining Room.
The meeting came after heightened political uncertainty in Venezuela and renewed international debate over the country’s future leadership and oil resources.
She also offered her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump, media reported.
Trump described the interaction as a “great honor”.
In a social media post, he said Machado had presented him with her Nobel Peace Prize during their talks.
“It was my Great Honor to meet María Corina Machado, of Venezuela, today,” Trump wrote. “She is a wonderful woman who has been through so much.”
Trump said the Nobel gesture was made “for the work I have done”, called it “such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect”. “Thank you María!” he added.
Machado was speaking to reporters said that the Nobel gesture was rooted in shared democratic traditions between Venezuela and the United States.
She drew a historical parallel, recalled that French General Marquis de Lafayette once presented Venezuelan independence leader Simon Bolívar with a medal bearing the likeness of George Washington.
“Two hundred years in history, the people of Bolivar are giving back to the heir of Washington a medal, in this case, the medal of the Nobel Peace Prize as recognition for his unique commitment to our freedom,” Machado said.
The Norwegian Nobel Institute has said that once the Nobel was awarded, the Nobel Peace Prize cannot be transferred, shared, or revoked.
Machado had told Fox News programme Hannity that she wanted to “personally” thank Trump for the capture of Maduro.
Trump cautiously noted when speaking to reporters before the meeting.
He described Machado as a “very nice woman” but said she did not have “the support within or the respect within the country” required to lead Venezuela.
Venezuelan supporters gathered outside the White House waving flags and called for political change.
Many urged the United States to take stronger action against Venezuela’s current regime.
Adriana Molinero, a supporter, told she hoped to return home and help rebuild her country.
“I have been here in the US for three years, and I’m here right now because I just want to go back and be part of the reconstruction of my country,” she said.
“I have a lot of friends who fought, who died, who are in prison right now just because they want to think differently. We just want freedom and want to express ourselves.”
Isabel Hayek another supporter said Machado represented the hopes of Venezuelans.
“She’s a real leader,” she told news media added that the current leadership was not what the country “needs, wants, and deserves”.
Machado travelled to Capitol Hill for a bipartisan meeting with US senators hosted by Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Ranking Member Jeanne Shaheen.
Durbin described Machado as “completely deserving of the Nobel Peace Prize,” while Shaheen warned that “removing a dictator is not the same as restoring democracy”.
Machado’s US visit follows a private meeting earlier this week with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican, where she sought support for the release of political prisoners.
She re-emerged publicly in December after 11 months in hiding to accept the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway.
Trump administration has confirmed the first sale of Venezuelan oil worth USD 500 million, according to Semafor.
Trump has said the US will take control of Venezuela’s oil reserves and invite American companies to invest in reviving the country’s damaged oil industry, media reported.
