Venezuela’s Machado gives Trump her Nobel Peace Prize: Is it his now?

Two weeks aft United States peculiar forces abducted Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro, absorption person Maria Corina Machado visited the White House for her archetypal in-person meeting with US President Donald Trump.

With Venezuela’s aboriginal uncertain, and Trump seemingly successful a presumption of authorization to find who mightiness pb the South American country, Machado placed her precocious won Nobel Peace Prize successful the hands of a antheral who has coveted the grant for years.

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The 2 posed for a photograph successful beforehand of the Declaration of Independence successful the Oval Office, and Trump smiled large arsenic helium clasped onto a ample aureate framework encasing the medal.

But does the prize present beryllium to Trump, and could it alteration the US president’s people of enactment erstwhile it comes to Venezuela?

Did Trump judge the Nobel Peace Prize?

ABC News aboriginal quoted an unnamed White House authoritative confirming that Trump had agreed to support the award.

“It was my Great Honor to conscionable Maria Corina Machado, of Venezuela, today. She is simply a fantastic pistillate who has been done truthful much,” Trump wrote successful a station connected his Truth Social level connected Thursday.

“Maria presented maine with her Nobel Peace Prize for the enactment I person done. Such a fantastic motion of communal respect. Thank you Maria!”

Why did Machado triumph the Prize?

Machado, 58, is the person of the Venezuelan absorption party, Vente Venezuela. She is besides 1 of Maduro’s staunchest critics.

In 2023, she won the Venezuelan opposition’s statesmanlike primary, placing her successful a premier presumption to situation longtime person Maduro successful the 2024 statesmanlike elections.

However, Venezuela’s apical court, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, upheld a prohibition stopping Machado from moving for office. The tribunal backed authorities claims that she supported US sanctions, was linked to a weapons crippled done her enactment and had helped origin losses to Venezuelan assets similar the US-based lipid refiner Citgo and chemicals institution Monomeros, which operates successful Colombia.

Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, a diplomat, replaced her arsenic statesmanlike campaigner for the absorption bloc. Machado campaigned for him.

However, Maduro won the election, continuing to clasp onto his statesmanlike seat, which helium has held since 2013. The predetermination was disputed and earned wide accusations of fraud from wrong and extracurricular Venezuela, including from a sheet of United Nations experts. Nine Latin American countries demanded a reappraisal of the predetermination results successful the beingness of autarkic observers.

After spending much than a twelvemonth successful hiding and defying a decade-long question prohibition imposed by Venezuelan authorities, Machado secretly near Venezuela successful December to question to Oslo to cod her prize.

While announcing her win, the Nobel Committee said Machado was “receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for her tireless enactment promoting antiauthoritarian rights for the radical of Venezuela and for her conflict to execute a conscionable and peaceful modulation from dictatorship to democracy”.

Why did Machado springiness Trump the Nobel Prize?

Trump’s longstanding tendency to triumph the Nobel Peace Prize is good known. Before the prize for 2025 was announced, Trump repeatedly suggested that helium deserved to triumph it and claimed it would beryllium a “big insult” to the US if helium did not.

Speaking astatine the UN General Assembly (UNGA) successful New York successful September 2025, Trump said, “Everyone says I should get the Nobel Peace Prize.”

Trump added, “I ended 7 wars. No president oregon premier curate has ever done thing adjacent to that.” The wars helium claimed to person ended see conflicts betwixt Cambodia and Thailand; Kosovo and Serbia; the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda; Pakistan and India; Israel and Iran; Egypt and Ethiopia; and Armenia and Azerbaijan. Subsequently, Trump besides oversaw the signing of the Gaza ceasefire deal.

In reality, analysts person pointed out, respective of these conflicts are inactive live – Thailand and Cambodia person fired astatine each different since their truce; Israel has killed much than 450 Palestinians successful Gaza since the ceasefire came into effect connected October 10; and tensions stay precocious betwixt India and Pakistan.

Trump has openly expressed his vexation with not winning the Nobel Peace Prize. “I single-handedly ENDED 8 WARS, and Norway, a NATO Member, foolishly chose not to springiness maine the Nobel Peace Prize,” Trump wrote successful a Truth Social station connected January 7.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which determines who wins the prize, is autarkic from the authorities of Norway.

The White House posted a representation of Trump and Machado with the framed prize. The substance connected the framework read: “Presented arsenic a idiosyncratic awesome of gratitude connected behalf of the Venezuelan people, successful designation of President Trump’s principled and decisive enactment successful pursuit of a escaped Venezuela.”

After her gathering with Trump, Machado told reporters it was “excellent” and that she presented Trump with the medal arsenic “a designation for his unsocial committedness with our freedom”.

Does that mean the Nobel Prize is Trump’s now?

Under the statutes of the Nobel Foundation, a Nobel Prize cannot beryllium revoked, reallocated, oregon transferred to different person. Once a prize has been awarded, the determination is last and permanent.

The statutes of the Nobel Foundation are the ceremonial rules that govern however the Nobel strategy works successful practice.

While Trump tin clasp the carnal prize, it has inactive been awarded to Machado, which is simply a determination that volition proceed to stand.

The Nobel Peace Center relationship connected X, the authoritative relationship of the depository astir the Nobel Peace Prize, reiterated this successful an X station connected Wednesday.

“A medal tin alteration owners, but the rubric of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate cannot,” the station says.

What does this mean for Venezuela?

On January 3, Maduro, 63, was abducted by peculiar forces of the US during an cognition successful the Latin American country’s capital, Caracas.

Since his abduction, Venezuela has been confronted by questions implicit who volition pb it – and whom Trump would backmost for the role.

The US president rapidly ruled out the anticipation of supporting Machado arsenic the person of Venezuela. “She doesn’t person the enactment wrong oregon the respect wrong the country. She’s a precise bully woman, but she doesn’t person the respect,” Trump said astir Machado during a quality league connected January 3.

On January 4, The Washington Post reported, quoting 2 anonymous sources adjacent to the White House, that Trump had withheld enactment from Machado due to the fact that helium was upset that she had accepted the Nobel – adjacent though she had dedicated it to him – alternatively of refusing it.

One of these radical said Machado accepting the grant was the “ultimate sin”, portion the different idiosyncratic told the Post: “If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t judge it due to the fact that it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d beryllium the president of Venezuela today.”

Instead, Trump has backed Maduro’s deputy, Delcy Rodriguez, who was sworn successful arsenic Venezuela’s interim president. Rodriguez has expressed eagerness to enactment with the US.

During the gathering betwixt Machado and Trump, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that portion Trump had been looking guardant to gathering Machado,  helium stood by his “realistic” presumption that Machado lacks the backing required to pb the state for now.

Meanwhile, Trump spoke to Rodriguez implicit a telephone telephone connected Wednesday. In a station connected Truth Social that day, Trump described the telephone arsenic “very good”.

“Many topics were discussed, including Oil, Minerals, Trade and, of course, National Security. This concern betwixt the United States of America and Venezuela volition beryllium a spectacular 1 FOR ALL. Venezuela volition soon beryllium large and prosperous again, possibly much truthful than ever before!”

Rodriguez described the speech arsenic long, productive and courteous, saying they discussed a bilateral docket aimed astatine benefitting some countries.

Machado near the White House carrying an authoritative acquisition container – a reddish insubstantial container stamped with Trump’s golden facsimile signature. It was little wide whether she departed with immoderate amended consciousness of wherever she stands successful Washington’s plans for Venezuela’s future.