Machado presented Trump with her Nobel Prize during a meeting at the White House

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado told reporters she presented her Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Donald Trump during a private meeting at the White House on Thursday, but did not say whether he accepted it.

“I think today is a historic day for us Venezuelans,” she said after meeting Trump, the first time the two met in person.

In the weeks after US forces captured Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, Trump has refused to back Machado, whose movement claimed victory in the hotly contested 2024 elections, as its new leader.

Instead, he is dealing with the acting head of state there, Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro’s former vice president.

After leaving the White House, Machado spoke to supporters gathered outside the gates and told them in Spanish, according to the Associated Press: “We can count on President Trump.”

“I presented the President of the United States with the Nobel Peace Prize medal,” Machado later told reporters in English, calling it “a recognition of his unique commitment to our freedom.”

It is not clear whether Trump received the award. Trump, who often speaks of his desire to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, had expressed his displeasure when it was presented to Machado and she decided to accept the honor last year.

The BBC has contacted the White House for comment.

Machado said last week she would share it with Trump, but the Nobel Committee later clarified it was non-transferable.

“Once a Nobel Prize has been announced, it cannot be withdrawn, shared or transferred to others,” the committee said in a statement last week. “The decision is final and lasts forever.”

Asked for a response to Machado’s comments, the committee referred the BBC to their earlier statement.

Ahead of Thursday’s White House meeting, the Nobel Peace Center posted on X that “a medal can change hands, but the title of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate cannot.”

In her remarks, Machado described how the Marquis de Lafayette, who fought in the American War of Independence, presented a medal bearing George Washington’s likeness to Simon Bolivar, one of the founding fathers of modern Venezuela.

The gift was “a sign of the brotherhood” between her country and the US “in their struggle for freedom against tyranny,” Machado said.

“And 200 years in history, the people of Bolivar give back to Washington’s heir a medal – in this case a Nobel Peace Prize medal – in recognition of his unique commitment to our freedom,” she said.

Machado also visited Congress to meet with U.S. senators during her visit to Washington, where her comments to reporters were drowned out by supporters chanting “María, presidente” and waving Venezuelan flags.

Machado was expected to use her time with Trump to convince him that supporting Rodríguez’s interim government was a mistake, and that her opposition coalition should be in charge of this transition.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters as the meeting was underway Thursday that Machado “is a remarkable and courageous voice for many people in Venezuela” and that Trump “looked forward to this meeting and expected a frank and positive discussion” about the current realities of life in Venezuela.

Trump has previously described Machado as a “freedom fighter” but rejected the idea of ​​appointing her as Venezuela’s leader after Maduro’s ouster, arguing she lacks sufficient domestic support.

Since Maduro was seized on January 3, the Trump administration has moved quickly to revive Venezuela’s oil sector, which has been under US sanctions. On Wednesday, a US official said the US had completed its first sale of Venezuelan oil, worth $500 million.

A Venezuelan government envoy is also expected to travel to Washington on Thursday to meet with US officials and take the first steps toward reopening the country’s embassy, ​​the New York Times reported.

The envoy is said to be a close ally and friend of Rodríguez, described by the White House as “extremely cooperative.”

Rodríguez delivered the annual Message to the Nation address in Caracas on Thursday, during which she said she was willing to also attend meetings in Washington.

“If I ever have to go to Washington as acting president, I will do it upright, walking and not crawling,” she said, calling on the country “not to be afraid of diplomacy” with the US.

Trump and Rodríguez also spoke by phone on Wednesday, with Trump later describing his social media counterpart as “a wonderful person.” Rodríguez, meanwhile, described the call as “productive and courteous” and marked by “mutual respect.”