Venezuela’s Machado gives Trump her Nobel Peace Prize
With Venezuela’s future uncertain, and Trump seemingly in a position of authority to determine who might lead the South American country, Machado placed her recently won Nobel Peace Prize in the hands of a man who has coveted the award for years.
The two posed for a photo in front of the Declaration of Independence in the Oval Office, and Trump smiled big as he clasped onto a large golden frame encasing the medal.But does the prize now belong to Trump, and could it change the US president’s course of action when it comes to Venezuela?
Machado, 58, is the leader of the Venezuelan opposition party, Vente Venezuela. She is also one of Maduro’s staunchest critics.In 2023, she won the Venezuelan opposition’s presidential primary, placing her in a prime position to challenge longtime leader Maduro in the 2024 presidential elections.
However, Maduro won the election, continuing to hold onto his presidential seat, which he has held since 2013. The election was disputed and earned widespread accusations of fraud from within and outside Venezuela, including from a panel of United Nations experts. Nine Latin American countries demanded a review of the election results in the presence of independent observers.
After spending more than a year in hiding and defying a decade-long travel ban imposed by Venezuelan authorities, Machado secretly left Venezuela in December to travel to Oslo to collect her prize.
While announcing her win, the Nobel Committee said Machado was “receiving the Nobel Peace Prize for her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy”.
However, Venezuela’s top court, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, upheld a ban stopping Machado from running for office. The court backed government claims that she supported US sanctions, was linked to a weapons plot through her party and had helped cause losses to Venezuelan assets like the US-based oil refiner Citgo and chemicals company Monomeros, which operates in Colombia.
Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, a diplomat, replaced her as presidential candidate for the opposition bloc. Machado campaigned for him.
Why did Machado give Trump the Nobel Prize?
Trump’s longstanding desire to win the Nobel Peace Prize is well known. Before the prize for 2025 was announced, Trump repeatedly suggested that he deserved to win it and claimed it would be a “big insult” to the US if he did not.
Speaking at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) in New York in September 2025, Trump said, “Everyone says I should get the Nobel Peace Prize.”
Trump has openly expressed his frustration with not winning the Nobel Peace Prize. “I single-handedly ENDED 8 WARS, and Norway, a NATO Member, foolishly chose not to give me the Nobel Peace Prize,” Trump wrote in a Truth Social post on January 7.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which determines who wins the prize, is independent from the government of Norway.
The White House posted a picture of Trump and Machado with the framed prize. The text on the frame read: “Presented as a personal symbol of gratitude on behalf of the Venezuelan people, in recognition of President Trump’s principled and decisive action in pursuit of a free Venezuela.”
After her meeting with Trump, Machado told reporters it was “excellent” and that she presented Trump with the medal as “a recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom”.
