Overview
- Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado ceremonially handed her 18-carat Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Donald Trump at the White House last week.
- In a statement from Stockholm, the Nobel Foundation said awards cannot be transferred or shared, even symbolically, citing Alfred Nobel’s will.
- Trump celebrated the gesture on Truth Social, but the Foundation’s position means the handover conveys no official Nobel status.
- White House spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said Trump will not endorse Machado as Nicolás Maduro’s successor, citing insufficient support within Venezuela.
- Analysts and reporting describe the presentation as a bid to sway U.S. backing, and media note past cases of Nobel medals being gifted or sold without affecting laureate status.