President Trump says Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado will soon visit the White House, a meeting that will focus on the future of the Western Hemisphere – and the fate of her Nobel Peace Prize.
She recently dedicated the award to Mr Trump, saying she would like to “give it to him, share it with him” following the US arrest and extradition to New York of their mutual adversary, Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, on narco-terrorism charges.
“I understand she’s coming by sometime next week, and I look forward to saying hello to her,” Trump said Thursday.
Speaking to Sean Hannity on Fox News, the president said receiving the award “would be a great honor.”
Ms. Machado, 58, is a natural ally of the U.S. as it tries to move Venezuela beyond the Maduro era. She campaigned aggressively in 2024 as a legitimate candidate against Maduro, but the regime banned her from running.
Meanwhile, Mr. Trump has said that in Venezuela, Ms. Machado does not have the necessary support to lead the country at this time as he tries to control political chaos and tap the South American country’s oil reserves.
“I think it would be very difficult for her to be the leader. She doesn’t have the support or the respect in the country,” Trump told reporters after the Maduro raid. “She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect to be a leader.”
Instead, the US government is relying on acting President Delcy Rodriguez, who served as vice president under Maduro.
Ms Rodriguez criticized the raid to oust Maduro, although her government released political prisoners in a conciliatory move towards the US.
Ms. Machado, also known as the Iron Lady, has been a longtime critic of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela since it came to power under Hugo Chavez in the late 1990s.
She rose to prominence as part of the Sumate election monitoring organization, led demonstrations against the Maduro regime and went into hiding after the 2024 elections.
She praised the US operation to oust Maduro but has not spoken to Trump since the raid.
Ms. Machado spoke with other U.S. officials, including Senator Rick Scott, a Republican from Florida.
“She is extremely grateful for it [Mr. Trump’s] bold action to hold Maduro and his thugs accountable and work to restore freedom and democracy in Venezuela,” Mr. Scott wrote on X.
Praised in the past by Secretary of State Marco Rubio for her tenacity, Ms. Machado visited President George W. Bush in the Oval Office in 2005 to discuss her efforts to secure the vote in Venezuela.
The Nobel Committee last year praised “her tireless work to promote democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy. As the leader of the democratic movement in Venezuela, Maria Corina Machado is one of the most extraordinary examples of civil courage in Latin America in recent times.”
The White House did not detail when the Machado-Trump meeting would take place.
Her peace prize could be awarded largely during the sitdown, given Trump’s campaign for the honor.
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