MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Machado handed her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump

Machado confirmed the move after leaving the US Capitol, following a packed schedule that included a closed-door meeting of more than two hours with Trump

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado handed her Nobel Peace Prize medal to US President Donald Trump on Thursday, in a symbolic gesture that capped a high-stakes visit to Washington amid mixed signals from the White House over Venezuela’s political future.

Machado confirmed the move after leaving the US Capitol, following a packed schedule that included a closed-door meeting of more than two hours with Trump at the White House and subsequent talks with US senators and lawmakers. She said she used the meeting to convey the Venezuelan people’s determination to rebuild democratic institutions, safeguard civil liberties and address what she described as “the collapse of healthcare and education.”

The opposition leader said the presentation of the medal was intended as a historical and symbolic act, recalling an episode from 200 years ago when the Marquis de Lafayette presented Simón Bolívar with a medal bearing the image of George Washington. “Two centuries later, the people of Bolívar are returning a medal to Washington as a sign of recognition,” she said.

The gesture came against a complicated political backdrop. Earlier in the day, the White House reiterated that Trump does not see Machado as the right figure to lead a political transition in Venezuela, while expressing approval of the cooperation shown by interim president Delcy Rodríguez, who took office after the capture of former president Nicolás Maduro on January 3.

Despite that stance, Machado told supporters gathered outside the White House that she “counts on the president for Venezuela’s freedom,” underscoring the importance she places on US backing at what she described as a decisive moment for the country.