Trump receives Nobel Peace Prize from Machado amid Venezuela shake‑up
White House confirms president will retain medal despite Nobel rules
WASHINGTON/DUBAI – Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to US President Donald Trump yesterday during a private White House meeting, marking the first face-to-face encounter between the two leaders.
Machado, who fled Venezuela in December, said the gift symbolised her appreciation for Trump’s support for the Venezuelan people. A White House official confirmed that Trump intends to keep the medal.
Taking to social media on Thursday evening, Trump wrote: “Maria presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you, Maria!”
Despite the gift, the Norwegian Nobel Institute has emphasised that the prize remains hers and cannot be transferred or shared.
President Donald J. Trump meets with María Corina Machado of Venezuela in the Oval Office, during which she presented the President with her Nobel Peace Prize in recognition and honor.????️ pic.twitter.com/v7pYHjVNVO
— The White House (@WhiteHouse) January 16, 2026
The meeting, held behind closed doors in the Oval Office, lasted slightly over an hour and included a private lunch. Machado later met more than a dozen U.S. senators, both Republican and Democratic, at Capitol Hill to discuss Venezuela’s political future.
Symbolic gesture
During the meeting, Machado recounted a historical anecdote linking the gesture to Simon Bolivar and the Marquis de Lafayette. “Two hundred years ago, General Lafayette gave Simon Bolivar a medal with George Washington’s face,” she said. “Bolivar kept that medal for the rest of his life.” Machado said the medal was intended as a “personal symbol of gratitude on behalf of the Venezuelan people.”
The Nobel Peace Prize had been awarded to Machado in October last year for her efforts to advance democracy and political freedom in Venezuela. She left Venezuela secretly to receive the award in Norway before presenting the medal to Trump in Washington, DC.
Venezuela’s political landscape
Machado’s visit comes amid heightened political uncertainty in Venezuela following the US-backed capture of President Nicolas Maduro on January 3. Maduro’s former vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, was appointed interim leader, with Trump praising her as “very good to deal with.” This has limited Machado’s prospects of assuming leadership despite her opposition coalition winning the October 2023 primary by over 92 percent.
Machado has maintained that the opposition coalition has a mandate to govern and expressed readiness to serve, citing the opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez as the legitimate victor of Venezuela’s contested presidential race.
The White House noted that although Trump welcomed Machado’s visit, he remained “realistic” about her lack of support within Venezuela for immediate leadership.