Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: Finally, he got it, through a circuitous route though, even as he reportedly prepares for American wars in Iran, Greenland et al.
As in other matters, he scarcely cares for the Nobel Institute of its Committee which recently said the Peace Prize cannot change hands.
“Wonderful gesture,” an overjoyed Donald Trump, reacted when the actual Nobel winner, Venezuela’s Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, ‘presented’ the Peace Prize to the 47th President of the USA, right inside the White House on Thursday.
Trump praised Machado as “a wonderful woman,” the media reported.
Although Machado said she ‘presented’ her Nobel Peace Prize 2025 medal to President Trump, he has questioned her credibility to take over Venezuela after the US ousted then-President Nicolás Maduro early this month. It is difficult to predict what she would get from Trump as a quid pro quo, as the US is supporting another woman as ousted President Nicolas Maduro’s interim successor.
Annoyed at this bizarre development, the Nobel Institute said recently that Machado could not give her ‘non-transferable’ prize to Trump, an honour that he coveted and campaigned for months in 2025, even getting endorsements from Pakistan, Israel, and others.
Even if the gesture were purely symbolic, it was extraordinary given that Trump has effectively sidelined Machado, who has long been the face of resistance in Venezuela. He also signalled his willingness to work with Acting President Delcy Rodríguez, who was Maduro’s second-in-command.
“I presented the President of the United States the medal, the Nobel Peace Prize,” Machado told reporters after leaving the White House and heading to Capitol Hill. She said she had done so “as a recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom.”
Trump confirmed later on social media that Machado had left the medal for him to keep, and he said it was an honour to meet her.
“She is a wonderful woman who has been through so much. María presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done,” Trump said in his post. “Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you María!”
Trump’s recent actions have raised doubts about his stated commitment to backing democratic rule in Venezuela, as he gave no timetable on when elections might be held. Machado indicated that he had provided few specifics on that front during their discussion.
She did not provide more information on what was said.
After the closed-door meeting, Machado greeted dozens of cheering supporters waiting for her near the White House gates, stopping to hug many.
“We can count on President Trump,” she told them without elaborating, prompting some to briefly chant, “Thank you, Trump.”
Before her visit to Washington, Machado had not been seen in public since she travelled last month to Norway, where her daughter received the Peace Prize on her behalf. She had spent 11 months in hiding in Venezuela before she appeared in Norway after the ceremony. America’s spies were suspected to have smuggled her out from Venezuela to land in Norway for the event.
The jubilant scene after her meeting with Trump stood in contrast to political realities in Venezuela. Rodríguez remains in charge of day-to-day government operations, along with others in Maduro’s inner circle. In her first State of the Union speech on Thursday, the Interim President promoted the resumption of diplomatic ties between the two historic adversaries and advocated for opening the state-run oil industry to more foreign investment after Trump pledged to seize control of Venezuelan crude sales.
The US President has said it would be difficult for Machado to lead because she “doesn’t have the support or the respect within the country.” Her party is widely believed to have won 2024 elections rejected by Maduro.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt called Machado “a remarkable and brave voice” but also said the meeting didn’t mean Trump’s opinion of her changed, calling it “a realistic assessment.” Leavitt told reporters that Trump supported new Venezuelan elections “when the time is right” but did not say when he thought that might be.
Leavitt said Machado had sought the face-to-face meeting without setting expectations for what would occur. She spent about two and a half hours at the White House.
“I don’t think he needs to hear anything from Ms. Machado,” Leavitt said while the meeting was still going on, other than to have a “frank and positive discussion about what’s taking place in Venezuela.” After leaving the White House, Machado went on to a closed-door meeting with a bipartisan group of US senators.
Senator Chris Scott Murphy, Democrat-Connecticut, said Machado told them that “if there’s not some progress, real progress towards a transition in power, and/or elections in the next several months, we should all be worried.” “She reminded us that Delcy Rodríguez is, in many ways, worse than Maduro,” he added.
Asked if Machado had heard any commitment from the White House on holding elections in Venezuela, Murphy said, “No, I don’t think she got any commitment from them.”
Sen. Bernie Moreno, Rep-Ohio, exultant after the meeting, said Machado “delivered a message that loud and clear: What President Trump did was the most important, significant event in Latin America. That getting rid of Maduro was absolutely essential.”
Machado’s Washington stop coincided with the US forces in the Caribbean Sea seizing another sanctioned oil tanker that the Trump administration said had ties to Venezuela. It is part of a broader US effort to take control of the South American country’s oil after US forces captured Maduro and his wife on January 3, at a heavily guarded compound in the Venezuelan capital of Caracas and brought them to New York to stand trial on drug trafficking charges.
Leavitt said Venezuela’s interim authorities have been fully cooperating with the Trump administration and noted that Rodríguez’s government said it planned to release more prisoners detained under Maduro. Among those released were five Americans this week.
Trump said on Wednesday that he had a “great conversation” with Rodríguez, their first since Maduro was ousted.
Hours after Maduro’s capture, Trump said of Machado that “it would be very tough for her to be the leader.” Machado had steered a careful course to avoid offending Trump, notably after winning the peace prize, and had sought to cultivate relationships with him and key administration voices like Secretary of State Marco Rubio.