Venezuela's Machado presents her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump

María Corina Machado said she has “presented the president of the United States the medal of the Nobel Peace Prize” – it’s unclear whether Trump accepted the medal. ITV News US Correspondent Dan Rivers reports

Venezuela’s opposition leader, María Corina Machado, has presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to US President Donald Trump.

Machado handed the medal to Trump during a meeting at the White House on Thursday evening, where they discussed Venezuela’s future following the US military’s capture of then-president Nicolás Maduro in a raid in December.

The White House later posted a photo of Machado standing next to Trump in the Oval Office as he holds the medal in a large frame. A text in the frame reads, “Presented as a personal symbol of gratitude on behalf of the Venezuelan people in recognition of President Trump’s principled and decisive action to secure a free Venezuela.”

Machado said the gesture was a “recognition of his unique commitment to our freedom”.

The 58-year-old won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her political campaign against Maduro’s regime in Venezuela, an honour that Trump himself had openly wanted.

But the Nobel Institute, which awarded the peace prize, said Machado could not give it to Trump.

Trump confirmed later on social media that Machado had left the medal for him to keep, and he said it was an honor to meet her.

“She is a wonderful woman who has been through so much. María presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done,” Trump said in his post. “Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you María!”

“I presented the president of the United States the medal, the Nobel Peace Prize,” Machado told reporters after leaving the White House and heading to Capitol Hill. She said she had done so “as a recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom.”

Machado told crowds outside the White House: “We can count on President Trump,” prompting some to briefly chant “Thank you, Trump!”

Visiting Trump carried personal risk for Machado, whose whereabouts have largely been unknown since she left Venezuela last year after being briefly detained in Caracas.

Maduro and his wife escorted by armed federal agents in New York in January. / Credit: Getty Images

The meeting also contrasted with Trump’s past doubts about Machado and his commitment to backing democratic rule in Venezuela.

He has, however, shown a willingness to work with acting president Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former deputy.

Rodríguez, along with others from the ousted leader’s inner circle, remains in charge of day-to-day government operations and was delivering her first state of the nation address during Machado’s visit to Washington.

By engaging with Rodríguez, Trump has so far sidelined Machado, a long-time leading figure of Venezuela’s opposition.

María Corina Machado meeting people in the crowd on Thursday. / Credit: AP

This is despite her efforts to build ties with the president and senior figures in his administration, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a bid to align herself with the US government and its conservative wing.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt described Machado as “a remarkable and brave voice” for the Venezuelan people, but said the meeting did not mark a change in Trump’s view of her, calling it a “realistic assessment”.

Trump has previously said Machado would struggle to lead because she “doesn’t have the support or the respect within the country”, despite her party being widely believed to have won the 2024 elections rejected by Maduro.

Leavitt added that Trump supported new elections in Venezuela “when the time is right”, but did not give a timeframe.

It comes after the US seized another sanctioned oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea on Thursday, which the Trump administration says has links to Venezuela.

The seizure is part of a broader US push to take control of the country’s oil.

The US Coast Guard boarded the tanker, Veronica, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said on social media.

She said the ship had previously passed through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of Trump’s “established quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean”.