Washington, DC: Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said she presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to US president Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday despite the latter’s questioning her credibility to take over her country after the ouster of former president Nicolás Maduro.
Machado was the Nobel peace prize winner of 2025. With Trump craving the award, The Nobel Institute has said she could not give her prize to Trump. Even if Machado’s gesture proves to be purely symbolic, it was extraordinary given that the US president has effectively sidelined her.
Machado, who has long been the face of resistance in Venezuela. After the capture of Maduro by the US, it was believed that Trump was back her. However, he has now expressed his willingness to work with acting president Delcy Rodríguez, who had been Maduro’s second in command.
“I presented the president of the United States the medal, the Nobel Peace Prize,” Machado told reporters after leaving the White House and heading to Capitol Hill, as reported by AP. She said she had done so “as a recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom.”
There are now doubts whether Trump truly wants the return of democratic rule in Venezuela. He has given no timetable on when elections might be held. Machado indicated that he had provided few specifics on that front during their discussion, as reported by the news agency.
The Venezuelan leader did not provide more information on what was said, and the White House did not say if Trump accepted the medal or offer other details of its own.
After a closed-door meeting with Trump, Machado greeted dozens of cheering supporters waiting for her near the White House gates, stopping to hug many.
“We can count on President Trump,” she told them without elaborating, prompting some to briefly chant, “Thank you, Trump.”
Before her visit to Washington, Machado had not been seen in public since she travelled to Norway last month, where her daughter received the peace prize on her behalf. She had spent 11 months in hiding in Venezuela before she appeared in Norway after the ceremony.
It has been reported that the jubilant scene after her meeting with Trump stood in contrast to political realities in Venezuela. Rodríguez remains in charge of day-to-day government operations, along with others in Maduro’s inner circle. In her first state of the union speech Thursday, the interim president promoted the resumption of diplomatic ties between the historic adversaries and advocated for opening the state-run oil industry to more foreign investment after Trump pledged to seize control of Venezuelan crude sales.
Trump had earlier said it would be difficult for Machado to lead because she “doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country”, though her party is widely believed to have won the 2024 elections that were rejected by Maduro.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called Machado “a remarkable and brave voice” but also said the meeting didn’t mean Trump’s opinion of her changed, calling it “a realistic assessment.”
Leavitt told reporters that Trump supported new Venezuelan elections “when the time is right” but did not say when he thought that might be.
Leavitt said Machado had sought the face-to-face meeting without setting expectations for what would occur. She spent about two and a half hours at the White House.
“I don’t think he needs to hear anything from Ms. Machado,” the press secretary said while the meeting was still going on, other than to have a “frank and positive discussion about what’s taking place in Venezuela.”
After leaving the White House, Machado went on to a closed-door meeting with a bipartisan group of senators.
Senator Chris Murphy, D-Conn, said Machado told them that “if there’s not some progress, real progress towards a transition in power, and/or elections in the next several months, we should all be worried.”
“She reminded us that Delcy Rodríguez is, in many ways, worse than Maduro,” he added.
Asked if Machado had heard any commitment from the White House on holding elections in Venezuela, Murphy said, “No, I don’t think she got any commitment from them.”
Senator Bernie Moreno, an Ohio Republican, was exultant following the meeting, saying Machado “delivered a message that loud and clear: What President Trump did was the most important, significant event in Latin America. That getting rid of Maduro was absolutely essential.”
