Machado also said she discussed Venezuela’s future with the U.S. leader, although he questioned her ability to lead the country.
Machado’s unusual gesture to Trump, which the Nobel Institute commented was impossible, followed the rapid developments in Venezuela following a US operation in which President Nicolas Maduro and his wife were detained and taken to New York for trial on drug trafficking charges, Euronews noted.
Machado told reporters she presented Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize medal “in recognition of his extraordinary commitment to our freedom”.
Trump later confirmed on social media that Machado had left him the medal and said he was honored to meet her. “She is a wonderful woman who has been through a lot. Maria presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I did,” Trump wrote. – A beautiful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you Maria!”
The White House later released a photo of Machado holding the large-framed medal while standing next to Trump in the Oval Office.
The meeting between Trump and Machado came as acting President Delcy Rodriguez was delivering her first State of the Union address in Caracas and U.S. forces in the Caribbean Sea detained another sanctioned oil tanker with ties to Venezuela, according to the Trump administration.
Meanwhile, the future of Venezuela after Maduro remains unclear. Especially since Trump and his advisers have unexpectedly indicated a willingness to work with Rodriguez, who was vice president under Maduro, rather than Machado’s party, which is believed to have won the 2024 elections, the results of which Maduro has not recognized.
Meanwhile, Trump also describes himself as Venezuela’s acting president and says he will oversee the country’s oil revenues.
According to Trump, Machado will have a hard time leading Venezuela because she has “no support or respect within the country.”
Earlier, White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt called Machado “an outstanding and courageous voice,” but added that the meeting itself did not mean as if Trump’s opinion of her had changed, calling it a “realistic assessment.”
Leavitt said Trump supports holding new elections in Venezuela “when the time is right,” but did not specify when he thinks that might happen.
“We can count on President Trump,” Machado said after the closed-door meeting.
On the eve of Machado’s visit to Washington, the Norwegian Nobel Institute, the organizer of the Nobel Prize, said the peace prize cannot be withdrawn, transferred or divided once the winner is announced.
