Machado Hands Nobel Medal to Trump as U.S. Steers Venezuela’s Unsettled Transition

Overview

• María Corina Machado presented her 2025 Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Donald Trump in a private White House meeting on January 15, and Trump publicly praised the gesture as “wonderful.”
• The Norwegian Nobel Committee reiterated that Nobel titles cannot be transferred, shared, or revoked, while Norwegian media and commentators criticized Machado’s move.
• CIA Director John Ratcliffe traveled to Caracas to meet interim president Delcy Rodríguez to discuss intelligence cooperation, economic stability, and counternarcotics, according to reports citing a U.S. official.
• An anonymous U.S. official confirmed an initial sale of seized Venezuelan oil worth about $500 million, with proceeds placed under U.S. Treasury control.
• Trump has signaled willingness to work with Rodríguez and has said he does not see Machado as the country’s leader, while Machado insists a democratic transition is beginning and says she expects to seek the presidency when the time is right.