Venezuela's Machado wants to share her Nobel prize with Trump
What's the story
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado has expressed her desire to share her Nobel Peace Prize with United States President Donald Trump. During an interview on Fox News, the 2025 Nobel laureate praised Trump's role in the recent US military operation that led to the arrest of President Nicolas Maduro on narco-terrorism charges. "Let me be very clear, as soon as I learned that we had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, I dedicated it to President Trump," she said.
Nobel dedication
Machado praises Trump's role in Maduro's arrest
Machado told host Sean Hannity, "Because I believed that he deserved it. And a lot of people, most people, said it was impossible to achieve what he has just done on Saturday, January 3. I believed he deserved it in October, imagine now." She further added that January 3 would go down in history as "the day justice defeated tyranny." "It's a milestone. And it's not only huge for the Venezuelan people...it's a huge step for humanity...freedom and human dignity."
Future plans
Machado's plans amid political changes in Venezuela
Machado has not returned to Venezuela since accepting the Nobel Peace Prize but said she plans to do so soon. Asked whether she has offered Trump her Nobel Peace Prize, Machado said "it hasn't happened yet." "But I would love to be able to personally tell him that the Venezuelan people...want to give it to him and share it with him." Delcy Rodriguez, Venezuela's vice president and oil minister, has been sworn in as interim president after Maduro's arrest.
Award controversy
Machado's Nobel Prize win and Trump's response
Machado's name has surfaced in regard to future leadership for Venezuela after Maduro was captured by the US military in a planned operation. However, Trump dismissed the idea of Machado stepping into the role of president on Saturday, saying she didn't "have the support within or the respect within the country."