Nobel Peace Prize given to Donald Trump in meeting with winner María Corina Machado

Samuel Perkins

Lead Reporter

In 2025, Maria Corina Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize for her "tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela. Today, in a meeting with Donald Trump, Machado presented him the medal, and White House officials confirm that Trump has accepted the medal and intends to keep it.

This comes after the recent U.S. operation earlier in the month that captured Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, which Machado described as a historic step toward justice and a democratic transition.

This act was only symbolic, as the Nobel Peace Prize committee has stated that Nobel Prizes can't be transferred after selected. Machado compared the the gesture to a historic exchange between the Marquis de Lafayette and Simon Bolivar, which occurred two centuries ago, as a sign of brotherhood between the U.S. and Venezuelan people in their fight for liberty.

The gesture was also possibly seen as an attempt to secure Trump's complete backing for her leadership in Venezuela, despite his previous public doubts about her ability to lead the country.

Trump later confirmed the exchange on social media and called it a "wonderful gesture of mutual respect". He also stated Machado told him he "really deserved it" for his work.