Venezuela’s María Corina Machado gives Donald Trump her Nobel Peace Prize medal

She described it as a recognition of Trump's commitment to Venezuelan freedom

The Venezuelan political activist and opposition to Nicolás Maduro described the moment as a "historic day for Venezuelans".

It was the first time she had met Trump in person and comes just two weeks after the US had captured and taken Nicolás Maduro from Caracas, charging him with drug offences in America.

Trump said meeting Machado was a "great honour" and described her as a "wonderful woman who has been through so much".

After leaving the White House, Machado spoke to supporters in Spanish outside the White House, telling them: "We can count on President Trump."

"I presented the president of the United States the medal of the Nobel Peace Prize," she later told journalists.

She called it "a recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom".

Despite this, however, Trump did not endorse Machado as the new leader of Venezuela, continuing to deal with Maduro's former vice-president Delcy Rodríguez.

Trump had long lobbied for the Nobel Peace Prize before it was handed to Machado in October 2025.

He claimed to have ended a number of wars around the world, some claims fairer than others, but ultimately the Norwegian committee handed the award to the Venezuelan activist for her work promoting democracy and human rights in Venezuela.

Following the award being given, Trump claimed that Machado had called him and told him she was accepting the prize “in honour of you because you really deserved it.”

Last week, Machado mentioned that she would share the award with the US president, however, the Nobel Committee made sure to note that the award is non-transferable.

In a statement, the committee said: "Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others.

"The decision is final and stands for all time."

Before the White House meeting on Thursday, the Nobel Peace Center posted on X that "a medal can change owners, but the title of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate cannot".

Machado compared her gesture to that of Marquis de Lafayette, a figure of America's Revolutionary War, who gave a medal bearing the likeness of George Washington to Simon Bolívar, one of the founding fathers of modern Venezuela.

She described the gift as "a sign of the brotherhood" between her country and the US "in their fight for freedom against tyranny."

She added: "And 200 years in history, the people of Bolívar are giving back to the heir of Washington a medal, in this case a medal of the Nobel Peace Prize, as a recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom."