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1h ago

Machado Says She Presented Nobel Medal to Trump as U.S. Works With Venezuela’s Interim Leader

Nobel officials say the prize cannot be transferred, making the opposition leader’s gesture largely symbolic.

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Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado carries a gift bag with President Donald Trump's signature on it outside the White House following a meeting with Trump on January 15, 2026 in Washington, DC.
WASHINGTON, DC - JANUARY 15: Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado is seen on Capitol Hill following a meeting with lawmakers on January 15, 2026 in Washington, DC. Machado has called for Democratic Unitary Platform candidate Edmundo González, who is widely considered to be the winner of the 2024 election, to assume the presidency of Venezuela following the January 03, 2026 capture and arrest of Nicolas Maduro by the United States military. (Photo by Anna Rose Layden/Getty Images)
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Overview

  • Venezuelan opposition figure María Corina Machado said she handed her Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Trump at the White House, though it was not clear whether he kept it, and Trump thanked her in a social media post.
  • The White House said its assessment of Machado is unchanged, continuing to engage with acting president Delcy Rodríguez and declining to set a timetable for elections beyond hoping for them "one day."
  • After the White House meeting, Machado met a bipartisan group of senators, urging concrete steps toward a transition and saying repression continues under current authorities, according to attendees.
  • U.S. forces seized a sixth oil tanker linked to Venezuelan crude and a U.S.-brokered sale of Venezuelan oil worth about $500 million was finalized, underscoring Washington’s leverage over the country’s exports.
  • Rodríguez proposed legal changes to open Venezuela’s oil sector and characterized recent contacts with Washington as cooperative following her first call with Trump this week.