US President Donald Trump confirmed on Thursday that he received the Nobel Peace Prize from María Corina Machado during a meeting with the Venezuelan opposition leader in Washington, despite the Nobel Foundation reiterating last week that its awards are non-transferable and irrevocable.
“It was a great honor for me to meet María Corina Machado from Venezuela today. She is a wonderful woman who has been through so much. María gave me her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done,” he announced on his platform, Truth Social.
The White House occupant appeared with Machado, whom he avoided referring to as the leader of the opposition in the Latin American country, in what he described as a “wonderful gesture of mutual respect.”
Hours earlier, the opposition leader stated that she is counting on Trump “for the freedom of” her country after a closed-door meeting with the New York magnate and indicated that she offered him the Nobel Peace Prize medal “for his unique commitment to freedom.”
Speaking to the press, she said that during their conversation she conveyed to him “precisely the commitment that exists in Venezuelan society to fight for a transition that will allow not only the construction of solid and stable democratic institutions, but also to address the most important thing, which is” the Venezuelan people. “This is a historic day,” she added.
Machado acknowledged that she was impressed by “how clear” Trump is, “how well he knows the situation,” and “how much he cares about what the people of Venezuela are suffering.” “He is committed to the freedom of all political prisoners in Venezuela, and to the freedom of all Venezuelans,” she maintained.
It is worth remembering that the president had previously dismissed Machado as a potential leader of Venezuela after the capture, on January 3, of the country’s president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, citing the lack of support for the opposition leader within the Latin American country. Currently, the acting president is Delcy Rodríguez, who was Maduro’s vice president, and whose “cooperation” has been highlighted by the White House.
