WASHINGTON — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado gave President Donald Trump her Nobel Peace Prize medal at the White House on Thursday, describing the gesture as recognition of his “unique commitment” to Venezuelan freedom — even as the White House said the meeting had not changed Trump’s assessment of her political viability. The two-and-a-half-hour meeting produced no public commitment from Trump on a timeline for elections in Venezuela, where interim President Delcy Rodríguez continues to govern with U.S. cooperation.
The symbolically charged exchange underscored the gap between Machado’s standing as the face of Venezuelan democratic resistance — her party is widely regarded as the rightful winner of the country’s disputed 2024 election — and her limited leverage with an administration that has signaled openness to working with Rodríguez, a holdover from the Maduro government.
Machado, who had spent 11 months in hiding in Venezuela before emerging to attend the Nobel ceremony in Oslo in December, spent about two and a half hours at the White House before heading to Capitol Hill for a separate closed-door meeting with senators.
Speaking to reporters after leaving, she said she had presented Trump “with the medal, the Nobel Peace Prize” as a personal expression of thanks on behalf of the Venezuelan people. The Nobel Institute had previously ruled that the prize could not be transferred to another person.
Trump confirmed on social media that Machado had left the medal with him. “She is a wonderful woman who has been through so much,” he wrote. “María gave me her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you, María!” The White House later published a photo of Machado with Trump in the Oval Office, Trump holding the medal in a large framed display. The frame’s inscription read: “Presented as a personal symbol of gratitude on behalf of the Venezuelan people in recognition of President Trump’s decisive and principled action to ensure a free Venezuela.”
After the meeting, Machado greeted dozens of cheering supporters gathered near the White House gates. “We are counting on President Trump,” she told them.
No commitment on elections
The meeting produced no public commitment on a timeline for elections in Venezuela. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt described Machado as “a remarkable and brave voice” but said the meeting had not changed Trump’s view of her — calling his position “a realistic assessment.” Leavitt said Trump backed new elections “when the time is right” without specifying when.
Leavitt added that the White House had sought from the meeting “a frank and positive conversation about what is happening in Venezuela” and did not suggest that Machado’s perspective had altered administration policy.
At her Capitol Hill meeting, attended by a bipartisan group of senators, Machado delivered a more pointed warning. Sen. Chris Murphy, Democrat of Connecticut, said she told the group that “if there isn’t some progress, real progress toward a power transition and/or elections in the coming months, we should all be worried.” Murphy said Machado also “reminded us that Delcy Rodríguez is, in many respects, worse than Maduro.” When asked whether Machado had received any commitment from the White House on elections, Murphy said: “No, I don’t think she got any commitment from them.”
Sen. Bernie Moreno, Republican of Ohio, was more upbeat after the meeting. He said Machado had “delivered a strong and clear message: what President Trump did was the most important and significant event in Latin America” and that removing Maduro “was absolutely essential.”
Rodríguez governs; Trump’s doubts about Machado persist
Rodríguez, who served as Maduro’s second-in-command, remains in charge of Venezuela’s day-to-day government operations. Leavitt said the interim authorities had been cooperating fully with the Trump administration and that the Rodríguez government planned to release additional political prisoners from the Maduro era. Five Americans were among those freed this week.
In her first state-of-the-nation address on Thursday, Rodríguez called for renewed diplomatic ties between the long-time adversaries and advocated opening Venezuela’s state oil industry to greater foreign investment, following Trump’s pledge to assert control over Venezuelan crude sales.
Trump said Wednesday he had a “great conversation” with Rodríguez — his first since Maduro was captured and transferred to New York to face narcotics-trafficking charges.
Trump has questioned whether Machado can lead Venezuela, saying it would be “very difficult” for her because “she doesn’t have the support or respect within the country.” Machado’s party, Vente Venezuela, is widely regarded as the winner of Venezuela’s 2024 election, a result Maduro’s government rejected despite widespread credible evidence of fraud. Anti-government protests that followed the disputed results were suppressed by state security forces.
Also on Thursday, U.S. forces in the Caribbean seized another sanctioned oil tanker the Trump administration said had ties to Venezuela, part of a broader effort to take control of Venezuelan oil revenues.
Machado’s political history
Machado, an industrial engineer and the daughter of a steel magnate, began challenging Venezuela’s ruling party in 2004, when the nonprofit she co-founded promoted a referendum to recall then-President Hugo Chávez. The effort failed, and she and other executives faced conspiracy charges.
A year later she drew further government anger by traveling to Washington to meet then-President George W. Bush, whom Chávez viewed as an adversary. Nearly two decades later, she mobilized millions of Venezuelans against Maduro in the 2024 election, only to watch his allies declare him the winner anyway.