In a poignant White House moment, Maria Corina Machado, Venezuela’s staunch opposition voice, gifted President Donald Trump her Nobel Peace Prize during their first private lunch. Trump deemed it ‘a great honor,’ tweeting effusively about the ‘brilliant’ leader who has weathered immense trials.
On X, he shared: ‘Wonderful meeting with Venezuela’s Maria Corina Machado. Incredible strength in her. She presented her Nobel Peace Prize to me – a perfect emblem of respect.’ The exchange in the Oval Office’s dining quarters signals bolstering US-Venezuela ties.
To media, Machado wove a narrative thread to the past: French Marquis de Lafayette’s medal of George Washington to Simon Bolivar 200 years ago, treasured ever after. ‘History circles back as Bolivar’s heirs proffer this Nobel medal to Washington’s successor, emblematic of their liberty vow,’ she noted.
Machado then convened with US senators in a bipartisan forum on Capitol Hill, courtesy of Dick Durbin and Jeanne Shaheen. ‘Machado’s valor merits the Nobel; she’s gambling her life for Venezuela’s renewal,’ Durbin affirmed.
‘Tyrant removal alone doesn’t guarantee democracy. America must safeguard against authoritarian relapse,’ Shaheen advised. Lawmakers united in applauding Machado, yet probed Trump policies on a post-Maduro Venezuela.
Preceding this, Machado sought Vatican intervention from Pope Leo XIV for jailed dissidents. Her 11-month hideout ended dramatically with a public Nobel receipt in Norway last December, cementing her as a freedom fighter.