President Donald Trump engaged in a landmark private meeting with Venezuela’s opposition icon Maria Corina Machado at the White House on January 16, where she offered her Nobel Peace Prize medal as a freedom covenant. Reporters heard her frame the symbolic return post-lunch.
Explicitly, Machado stated: ‘I gave the US President the Nobel Peace Prize medal.’ Evoking Lafayette’s 19th-century present to Bolivar, she noted: ‘Two hundred years later, it comes back to Washington’s lineage – this Nobel salutes contributions to our sovereignty.’
Convened in the exclusive dining space, it premiered their personal interaction. Leavitt underscored Trump’s positive outlook, valuing Machado’s authoritative take on Venezuela’s dire straits as a potent spokesperson.
Fruitful US-interim collaborations persist, Leavitt affirmed, via $500 million energy transactions and liberating detainees including five Americans. Norwegian Nobel rules prohibit gifting prizes, clouding Trump’s receipt.
Navigating Trump’s ambivalence – doubting her support base while endorsing Rodriguez – Machado reemerged after 11 months clandestine, Nobel in hand from Norway last December.
Strategically, this positions Trump to bolster anti-Maduro efforts, possibly via escalated measures. Amid humanitarian catastrophe, Machado’s audacious diplomacy may forge pathways to accountability and renewal for millions.