María Corina Machado wants to share the Nobel Peace Prize with Donald Trump. This action would be in gratitude not only from her, but from the people of Venezuela, for the arrest of Nicolás Maduro and his wife.
Venezuelan opposition leader said that she would like to share her Prize with the U.S. President. She wants to personally thank him following Washington’s military intervention in Venezuela that led to the removal of Nicolás Maduro from power.
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Machado wants to share the Nobel Peace Prize with Trump
In an interview with Fox News, the leader praised the U.S. administration for its role in Maduro’s ouster on Saturday, calling the operation “a huge step for humanity, for freedom and human dignity.” She said the events marked a turning point not only for Venezuela, but for democratic aspirations across the region.
María Corina Machado revealed that she hasn’t spoken directly with Trump since the day she was announced as the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. The 58-year-old opposition leader received the award after leading the most significant peaceful challenge to Maduro’s rule in years. At the time, she partially dedicated the honor to Trump, who has openly expressed a long-standing desire to receive the Nobel himself.
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Thanks to Donald Trump
Speaking with Fox News host Sean Hannity, Machado said she hopes to formally share the award with the U.S. president. “I certainly would love to be able to personally tell him that we believe, the Venezuelan people, because this is a prize of the Venezuelan people, certainly want to give it to him, and share it with him,” she said.
Although Trump called María Corina Machado in October to congratulate her on the Nobel Peace Prize announcement, U.S. media reported that he was privately unhappy that she accepted the prize instead of declining it in his favor.
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Machado also announced plans to return to Venezuela “as soon as possible,” after months largely spent in hiding. She briefly appeared in public in December to attend the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo. Since January 9, she had remained out of sight after being briefly detained during an anti-government protest in Caracas.
In 2023, Machado won a landslide victory in the opposition’s primary election, securing 93 percent of the vote. However, she was barred from holding public office, preventing her from running against Maduro in the 2024 presidential election. Her replacement, Edmundo González, was widely believed to have won the vote based on polling station tallies, though Maduro was declared the winner amid allegations of widespread fraud.
Machado’s interview comes just days after Trump publicly questioned her leadership potential. “I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader,” Trump said. “She doesn’t have the support or the respect within the country. She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect.”
