The Norwegian Nobel Institute said Friday that the Nobel Peace Prize cannot be revoked, transferred, or shared with other recipients, closing off Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado’s expressed wish to give or share her award with President Donald Trump. “The decision is final and stands for all time,” the institute said in a brief statement issued from Oslo.
The ruling ends a symbolic exchange that had drawn international attention, even as Machado’s political standing in Venezuela remains uncertain: Trump has so far backed the country’s acting president, not Machado, for leading the post-Maduro transition.
The statement came after Machado expressed the wish in an interview Monday with Fox News host Sean Hannity. “I certainly would love to be able to personally tell him that we believe — the Venezuelan people, because this is a prize of the Venezuelan people — certainly want to, to give it to him and share it with him,” Machado said. “What he has done is historic. It’s a huge step towards a democratic transition.”
Machado had earlier dedicated the prize to Trump and the people of Venezuela when the award was announced. Trump has openly campaigned for winning the Nobel Prize himself since his return to office, according to the Associated Press.
Trump told Hannity on Thursday that Machado plans to visit the following week and described a potential Peace Prize offering as “a great honor.”
Machado credited Trump with overseeing the U.S. operation that resulted in the capture of Nicolás Maduro, the Venezuelan authoritarian leader who faces drug trafficking charges in New York.
Despite the tribute, Trump has backed someone other than Machado for Venezuela’s governance. He has supported acting President Delcy Rodríguez — who served as Maduro’s vice president — and called Machado “a very nice woman” while saying she does not currently have sufficient support within Venezuela to govern, according to AP. A representative for Machado did not respond to a request for comment.