Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado gave her Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Donald Trump during a meeting at the White House, saying it was a recognition of his commitment to her country’s freedom.
“I think today is a historic day for us Venezuelans,” she said after meeting Trump in person for the first time, weeks after US forces seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas and charged him in a drug-trafficking case.
Trump expressed his gratitude in a social media post, saying the move was “a wonderful gesture of mutual respect.” The US president has declined to endorse Machado as Venezuela’s new leader, however, despite her movement claiming victory in 2024’s widely contested elections.
The US President has instead been dealing with the acting head of state in Venezuela, Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice-president. Nonetheless, he said meeting Machado was a “great honor,” calling her a “wonderful woman who has been through so much.”
Trump is not a Nobel Peace Prize laureate
Once the Nobel Committee awards a medal, it becomes the personal property of the laureate (in this case, Maria Corina Machado). Like a piece of jewelry or a historical artifact, she has the legal right to gift it, loan it, or even sell it.
The Norwegian Nobel Institute has been very firm on this: “A Nobel Prize cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred.” Even if Trump has the physical gold in his possession, Maria Corina Machado remains the only official Nobel Peace Prize winner in the history books for 2025.
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