Reuters: Machado Handed The Nobel Peace Prize To Trump
- 16.01.2026, 8:43
For dedication to the liberation of the people of Venezuela from dictatorship.
Venezuelan opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado has handed a Nobel Peace Prize medal to U.S. President Donald Trump, noting that she was doing so to "recognize Trump's unique dedication to our freedom."
Reuters reports Reuters.
Maria Corina Machado presented the U.S. leader with a Nobel Peace Prize medal, emphasizing that during the meeting she was able to discuss Venezuelans' expectations and hopes during a difficult period for the country.
She did not specify to reporters whether Trump had officially accepted the gift.
Official Rules of the Nobel Prize
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said earlier that once the winner is announced, the award cannot be canceled, divided or transferred to others. The decision to award the prize is final and remains forever.
Historical precedents
Reuters recalls that such transfers of prizes have already taken place in history. In 1943, for example, Nobel Prize for Literature winner Knut Hamsun gave a medal to Nazi Germany's propaganda minister Josef Goebbels, a controversial but documented case in history.
What is known about the talks between Donald Trump and Maria Corina Machado
The lunch meeting lasted just over an hour. Machado then met with more than a dozen senators, both Republicans and Democrats, on Capitol Hill.
White House press secretary Caroline Leavitt said earlier that Trump was looking forward to Machado's arrival, but that he was being "realistic" about the situation and that in the short term the opposition activist did not have the necessary support to lead Venezuela.
"The president's assessment was based on the realities on the ground. It was a realistic assessment based on what the president read and heard from his advisers and his national security team. And so far, his opinion on this issue has not changed," Leavitt said after the leaders met.
Machado herself spoke positively of her interactions with the Republican. She said she was struck by the clarity of his statements about what is happening in Venezuela. They say Trump knows the situation and understands the suffering of the people.
"We could talk calmly about what expectations and dreams Venezuelans have in this very difficult, but at the same time full of hope," the politician said. She also emphasized that her state must transition to a democratic form of government.
Prehistory
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado proposed that US President Donald Trump share the Nobel Peace Prize she received, stressing that she considers his actions historically significant and conducive to democratic change in Venezuela. She noted that the prize medal she received in October was an award Trump had sought for years.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado received the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize "for her continuous work to promote the democratic rights of the people of Venezuela and her struggle for a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy."
Machado, a former member of the National Assembly and founder of the Sumate organization, was active in protests against the Nicolas Maduro regime, leading the opposition Vente Venezuela party and coordinating the unification of pro-democracy forces through the Soy Venezuela alliance.
She has been active in both political struggle and community work, including charitable projects for children and educational initiatives aimed at developing democratic institutions.
Machado's systematic and multidimensional work to strengthen democracy and defend civil rights under a repressive regime was the basis for her recognition by the Norwegian Nobel Committee.