Venezuelan opposition figure Maria Corina Machado said she presented her Nobel Peace Prize to United States President Donald Trump during a private meeting in Washington on Thursday, a symbolic gesture aimed at strengthening her influence as the future of Venezuela’s leadership hangs in the balance.
The meeting marked Machado’s first face to face encounter with Trump and came as she seeks a central role in shaping a post Maduro political order following Washington’s capture of longtime Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro earlier this month.
Machado told reporters the discussion was “excellent” and said she offered the Nobel medal in recognition of Trump’s commitment to the freedom of the Venezuelan people. Under Nobel rules, the honor cannot be transferred, shared or revoked. The Norwegian Nobel Institute has previously said any symbolic gesture does not alter the formal ownership of the prize.
Asked a day earlier whether he wanted Machado to give him the award, Trump dismissed the idea. “No, I didn’t say that. She won the Nobel Peace Prize,” he told Reuters.
While the meeting was underway, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had been looking forward to speaking with Machado but remained cautious about her political prospects. She said the president stood by his assessment that Machado does not yet have the support needed to lead Venezuela in the near term.
“I know the president was expecting a good and positive discussion with Miss Machado, who is a remarkable and brave voice for many Venezuelans,” Leavitt told reporters.
Following the lunch meeting, which lasted just over an hour, Machado met with more than a dozen senators from both parties on Capitol Hill, where she has found broader backing.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy of Connecticut said Machado warned lawmakers that political repression in Venezuela remains unchanged, despite the leadership shift. He said interim President Delcy Rodriguez was becoming more entrenched with Trump’s backing. “I hope elections happen, but I’m skeptical,” Murphy said.
Machado fled Venezuela in December in a dramatic sea escape and has been lobbying in Washington as rival factions seek Trump’s support. Trump has said his priorities include securing United States access to Venezuela’s oil resources and rebuilding the country’s economy.
He has repeatedly praised Rodriguez, Maduro’s former deputy who assumed leadership after his capture. “She’s been very good to deal with,” Trump said in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday.
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In Caracas, Rodriguez said she plans to propose reforms to Venezuela’s oil industry, signaling continuity in economic policy.
Machado was barred by Venezuela’s top court from running in the 2024 presidential election. Independent observers widely believe opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez, whom she backed, won the vote by a large margin, though Maduro claimed victory and stayed in power.
The current government has announced the release of dozens of political prisoners in recent days, but rights groups say the scale of the releases has been overstated.