{"id":240812,"date":"2026-01-16T06:37:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-16T06:37:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/240812\/"},"modified":"2026-01-16T06:37:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-16T06:37:09","slug":"venezuelas-machado-gave-trump-her-nobel-prize-in-return-she-received-a-swag-bag-but-no-promise-of-support","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/240812\/","title":{"rendered":"Venezuela\u2019s Machado gave Trump her Nobel prize. In return she received a swag bag but no promise of support"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n When Venezuela\u2019s opposition leader Mar\u00eda Corina Machado walked into the White House<\/a> on Thursday, she came bearing the gift US President Donald Trump has long coveted: a Nobel Peace Prize.\n <\/p>\n

\n Machado, a fierce critic of Venezuela\u2019s former strongman Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, won the award last year for her campaign for greater democracy. Now she was leaving the medal in the White House, hoping the gesture might buy her something far more valuable: US backing in the fight to lead Venezuela\u2019s post-Maduro future.<\/a>\n <\/p>\n

\n But, if she thought the gift might nudge the president toward providing a clearer endorsement, it appears she may be left waiting, at least for now.\n <\/p>\n

\n She was later photographed holding a Trump-branded swag bag as she left the White House \u2013 with little clarity on her political future.\n <\/p>\n

\n Machado is one of two figures vying for the leadership<\/a> of a post-Maduro Venezuela. Trump has placed Maduro\u2019s ex-Vice President Delcy Rodriguez as acting president, even though she was a longtime regime insider.\n <\/p>\n

\n A photo released by the White House shows Trump beside Machado, holding a large gold-framed plaque that appeared wall-ready, containing the medal and the dedication: \u201cPresented as a personal symbol of gratitude on behalf of the Venezuelan people in recognition of President Trump\u2019s principled and decisive action to secure a free Venezuela.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cMaria presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect,\u201d Trump posted on Truth Social.\n <\/p>\n

\n The Oslo-based Nobel Peace Center promptly reiterated that the medals cannot be shared or transferred.\n <\/p>\n

\"Venezuelan<\/p>\n

\n \u201cA medal can change owners, but the title of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate cannot,\u201d the committee said on X.\n <\/p>\n

\n Machado, meanwhile, gave an optimistic view of her meeting, calling it \u201chistoric\u201d and \u201cextraordinary.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n She added the Trump administration understood the need to rebuild institutions and protect human rights and free speech, and for a \u201cnew, genuine electoral process\u201d to encourage Venezuelans to return to their country.\n <\/p>\n

\n She also insisted Venezuela already has a president-elect: Edmundo Gonz\u00e1lez, the opposition candidate the US previously recognized after the country\u2019s disputed 2024 election.\n <\/p>\n

\n Government-appointed electoral authorities had named Maduro the winner, allowing him to cling to power until his abrupt capture by US special forces<\/a>. But at the time, opposition leaders, as well as the US and international watchdogs, voiced concern about allegations of foul play.\n <\/p>\n

\"Mar\u00eda<\/p>\n

\n But despite Washington\u2019s earlier support for Machado and Gonz\u00e1lez, Trump did not rally behind the opposition after Maduro\u2019s capture. Instead, he threw his support behind Rodriguez \u2013 a move that stunned many anti-Maduro figures.\n <\/p>\n

\n Despite Machado\u2019s upbeat tone, it remains unclear what, if anything, she secured beyond a photo-op and an official gift bag embossed with Trump\u2019s signature.\n <\/p>\n

\n The Trump administration has indicated several times that it views Rodriguez as a stable, pragmatic choice that the US can work with<\/a>.\n <\/p>\n

\n And on Thursday as their meeting kicked off, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump\u2019s assessment of Machado had not budged.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cI know the president was looking forward to this meeting, and he was expecting it to be a good and positive discussion with Ms. Machado, who is really a remarkable and brave voice for many of the people of Venezuela,\u201d Leavitt said.\n <\/p>\n

\n But she added Trump stands by his previous assertion that Machado lacks the necessary support to lead Venezuela. \u201cAt this moment in time, his opinion on that matter has not changed,\u201d she said.\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When Venezuela\u2019s opposition leader Mar\u00eda Corina Machado walked into the White House on Thursday, she came bearing the…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":240813,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[146,85,46,411],"class_list":{"0":"post-240812","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-il","10":"tag-israel","11":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240812","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=240812"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/240812\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/240813"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=240812"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=240812"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=240812"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}