Venezuelan opposition leader Machado presents Nobel Prize medal to Trump

Venezuelan opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado presented the prize medal to the US President Donald Trump.

Reuters reports this.

According to Machado, during her meeting with Trump, she spoke about the expectations and hopes of Venezuelans during the political crisis. She called the American president a person who understands the situation in Venezuela.

The White House released a photo of Donald Trump after the meeting, showing the US president smiling while holding his Nobel Peace Prize medal. The photo was taken during his conversation in the Oval Office with the Venezuelan opposition leader.

The Nobel Committee has previously emphasized that once the laureate has been announced, the prize cannot be revoked, transferred, or shared with another person. The decision to award the prize is final.

Reuters notes that there have been similar precedents in history. In particular, in 1943, writer and Nobel Prize winner for literature Knut Hamsun presented his medal to Nazi Germanyʼs propaganda minister, Joseph Goebbels.

Maria Corina Machado received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2025 “for her struggle for the democratic rights of Venezuelans and for the peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy”. After the decision was announced, she said she considered the award a symbol of the efforts of the entire Venezuelan people.

After the award was presented, Nicolas Maduroʼs allies demanded through the courts to strip opposition politicians, including Machado, of their citizenship, accusing them of "disloyalty to the country".

• The US president has long sought the award and has actively sought the support of the Norwegian committee during both of his terms. However, at least three of its five members have openly criticized Trump for “over 100 verbal attacks on the media”, “undermining democracy”, and “threatening millions of lives”.

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