Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado said she presented her Nobel medal to U.S. President Donald Trump during a private meeting at the White House on Thursday, calling the gesture a symbolic show of gratitude from the Venezuelan people. She did not confirm whether Trump formally accepted the medal.
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, Machado described the encounter as historic and said she believed the United States would continue to support Venezuela’s struggle for political change. Addressing supporters gathered outside the White House, she said in Spanish that Venezuelans could “count on President Trump,” before later explaining in English that the medal was meant to recognize his commitment to Venezuelan freedom.
Machado’s visit comes amid a complex political transition following the U.S. seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro earlier this month. Despite having praised Machado in the past, Trump has not endorsed her opposition coalition as the country’s next leadership, choosing instead to engage with Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice-president and the current acting head of state.
Questions remain over the status of the Nobel medal. The Nobel Committee has reiterated that prizes cannot be transferred or shared, noting that while a medal may change hands, the title of Nobel Peace Prize laureate cannot. The White House has not publicly commented on the exchange, and it remains unclear how Trump received the gesture.
Machado framed the presentation as a historical parallel, recalling how a medal honoring George Washington was once gifted to Simón Bolívar as a symbol of shared struggles for independence. She said the act represented solidarity between Venezuela and the United States in opposing authoritarian rule and defending democratic values.
Beyond the symbolic moment, Machado used her visit to Washington to meet U.S. lawmakers and press for greater recognition of her movement’s claim to victory in Venezuela’s disputed 2024 election. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has moved quickly to reshape Venezuela’s oil sector, overseeing initial sales of Venezuelan crude and opening diplomatic channels with Rodríguez’s interim government as broader negotiations continue.