Maria Corina Machado gave Trump her Nobel Peace Prize after the US chief captured Nicolas Maduro.
Printed On 18 Apr 2026
Venezuela’s foremost opposition chief Maria Corina Machado says she has “no regrets” about giving US President Donald Trump her Nobel Peace Prize medal.
Machado, the 2025 recipient of the celebrated prize, presented the medal that accompanies the prize to Trump when she met him at the White House in January, two weeks after he ordered US particular forces to grab Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro from Caracas.
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Trump’s army operation to take away Maduro, who’s at present detained within the US dealing with drug trafficking expenses, is “one thing we Venezuelans will always remember”, she was quoted by AFP information company as saying at a convention in Madrid on Saturday.
“There’s a chief on this planet, a head of state on this planet, who risked the lives of his nation’s residents for Venezuela’s freedom,” she mentioned.
Trump, who has long publicly coveted the Nobel Peace Prize, referred to as Machado’s presentation of the medal on the time a “fantastic gesture of mutual respect”.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which honoured Machado for her tireless marketing campaign to revive democratic rights in Venezuela and her wrestle to realize a peaceable transition from authoritarian rule, made clear after the handover that the prize is nontransferable and can’t be revoked, shared or transferred to others.
Machado, who had been residing in hiding earlier than leaving Venezuela in December to gather her prize in Oslo, mentioned she was coordinating her return to the nation with Washington.
US key to ‘democratic transition’
“I’m talking with the US authorities, and we’re working in coordination, with mutual respect and understanding,” she mentioned, including that she believed Washington was “key to advancing a democratic transition” in Venezuela.
Trump has, nevertheless, publicly questioned Machado’s standing, calling her a “very good lady” however saying she lacks “respect” inside Venezuela. He has as a substitute backed Maduro’s former vice chairman, Delcy Rodriguez, because the nation’s interim chief.
Venezuela’s opposition final week referred to as for presidential elections. Machado, who was banned from working within the disputed 2024 vote that returned Maduro to energy, has not but mentioned whether or not she would stand in a future ballot.
Whereas in Spain, Machado declined a gathering with Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, citing his internet hosting of a progressive leaders’ summit in Barcelona as proof the assembly was “not advisable”. Sanchez had mentioned he was prepared to fulfill her at any time.
This snub is available in distinction to her frequent encounters with Sanchez’s right-wing opponents.
