MADRID: Venezuela&#39;s opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said on Saturday &quot;I have no regrets&quot; about symbolically handing over her Nobel Peace Prize to US President Donald Trump back in January. &quot;There is a leader in the world, a head of state in the world who risked the lives of his country&#39;s citizens for Venezuela&#39;s freedom,&quot; she told a news conference in Madrid. Machado presented her Nobel prize to Trump when she met him in the White House just two weeks after he ordered US forces to attack Caracas and snatch Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro. Trump, who has long coveted the Nobel Peace Prize, is currently embroiled in the Middle East war he started with his ally, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, with airstrikes on Iran at the end of February. The Norwegian Nobel Committee, which awards the peace prize, made clear after Machado handed her 2025 Nobel medal to Trump that the actual honor it represents &quot;cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others&quot;. Machado said that Trump&#39;s military operation to snatch Maduro, who is currently detained in New York facing US drug charges, &quot;is something we Venezuelans will never forget&quot;. &quot;Consequently,&quot; she said, &quot;no, I have no regrets&quot; about gifting her Nobel medal to Trump. Machado, who was in hiding before leaving Venezuela in December to collect her Nobel prize in Oslo, said she was organizing her return to the country in coordination with Washington. &quot;I am speaking with the US government, and we are working in coordination, with mutual respect and understanding,&quot; she said. She added that she believed that Washington was &quot;key to advancing a democratic transition&quot; in Venezuela. Venezuela&#39;s opposition last week called for presidential elections. Machado, who has not yet said if she would run in a future poll, was banned from running for president in the 2024 election that resulted with Maduro claiming a reelection victory.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado poses with Madrid Mayor Jose Luis Martinez-Almeida after receiving the Golden Key to the City, in Madrid, on April 17, 2026. (AFP)

Americas

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado defended giving her Nobel medal to Donald Trump, praising his role in former Venezuelan President Maduro’s capture, and expressing no regrets in gifting him her Nobel Peace Prize. 

Venezuela's Machado doesn't regret gifting Nobel Peace Prize to Trump

WASHINGTON: Venezuelan <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/out-of-hiding-venezuelas-machado-vows-to-return-to-end-tyranny" style="color:#0073e6;">opposition leader</a> Maria Corina Machado said on Friday her country is starting a &quot;true transition&quot; to democracy and will become free with support from the United States and President Donald Trump. Trump, however, has sidelined Nobel laureate Machado and backed former vice president Delcy Rodriguez as interim leader of the oil-rich country following the January 3 US military operation that seized president Nicolas Maduro. &quot;We are definitely now into the first steps of a true transition to democracy,&quot; Machado said during an event in Washington, adding that this will have an &quot;immense impact in the lives of all Venezuelans&quot; as well as around the region and the world. &quot;Venezuela is going to be free, and that&#39;s going to be achieved with the support of the people of the United States and the president, Donald Trump,&quot; Machado said. Her party has presented evidence that Maduro stole the 2024 election &mdash; claims supported by Washington and much of the international community. But Trump has said that Machado does not have enough support among Venezuelans, and opted to stick with Rodriguez, so long as she toes the line on US access to Venezuela&#39;s vast oil reserves. Machado said Friday that Rodriguez is &quot;following orders&quot; rather than acting of her own will. The opposition leader&#39;s remarks came a day after US Central Intelligence Agency chief John Ratcliffe met Rodriguez in Caracas. Ratcliffe traveled to Venezuela to &quot;deliver the message that the United States looks forward to an improved working relationship,&quot; a US administration official said on condition of anonymity. Nobel medal&nbsp;In an indication of that improved relationship, a US deportation flight carrying 231 Venezuelans landed in Caracas on Friday, the first since Maduro&#39;s overthrow. Trump has made cracking down on undocumented immigrants a major part of his second term, carrying out sweeping immigration raids and deporting migrants. <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/who-is-mara-corina-the-2025-nobel-peace-prize-winner" style="color:#0073e6;">Machado</a>, 58, on Thursday&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/venezuelas-machado-presents-trump-with-nobel-prize" style="color:#0073e6;">presented </a>her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Trump in a bid to win over the US president. &quot;He deserves it,&quot; she said. &quot;And it was a very emotional moment, I decided to present the Nobel Peace Prize medal on behalf of the people of Venezuela.&quot; It was not immediately clear if Trump &mdash; who said Friday that he and Machado will &quot;be talking again&quot; &mdash; kept the award following their White House lunch. The Norwegian Nobel Committee says its prizes cannot be transferred. Trump had campaigned hard to win last year&#39;s Nobel Peace Prize, claiming that he stopped eight wars since taking office, but it <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/venezuelas-maria-corina-machado-wins-2025-nobel-peace-prize" style="color:#0073e6;">went </a>to Machado instead. Trump and Rodriguez had their first telephone call on Wednesday, and the White House said he &quot;likes what he&#39;s seeing&quot; from her. Rodriguez said, however, that her government will stand up to Washington. &quot;We know they are very powerful...we are not afraid to confront them diplomatically, through political dialogue,&quot; she said Thursday. Rodriguez was delivering Maduro&#39;s state of the nation address to parliament while the long-time authoritarian leader is in a New York jail facing drug trafficking charges. By contrast, Machado, who campaigned for years to end leftist Maduro&#39;s rule, was greeted by jubilant supporters in Washington.

Venezuelan opposition leader says Venezuela is “going to be free,” will be achieved with the “support of the people of the United States and the president, Donald Trump.”

Machado says Venezuela beginning 'transition' to democracy

Web Desk

WASHINGTON: Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said Thursday she &quot;presented&quot; her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Donald Trump, in a bid to win over the US president who had sidelined her since the overthrow of Nicolas Maduro.&nbsp;Her &quot;wonderful gesture of mutual respect,&quot; as Trump called it Thursday, comes after the Republican said the award should have gone to him instead &mdash; and after he refused to back Machado following the Jan. 3 US military operation to capture Maduro.<div class="fr-embed"><div class="twitter-tweet twitter-tweet-rendered" style="display: flex; max-width: 550px; width: 100%; margin-top: 10px; margin-bottom: 10px;"><iframe id="twitter-widget-1" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="true" title="X Post" src="https://platform.twitter.com/embed/Tweet.html?dnt=false&embedId=twitter-widget-1&features=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%3D%3D&frame=false&hideCard=false&hideThread=false&id=2012006221340164338&lang=en&origin=https%3A%2F%2Fmain.d1wrm1qseko1cp.amplifyapp.com%2Farticles%2Fnew%2F&sessionId=bb01fe2a5e3773c6e841501d25aedd002d3b28ba&theme=light&widgetsVersion=2615f7e52b7e0%3A1702314776716&width=550px" style="position: static; visibility: visible; width: 550px; height: 826px; display: block; flex-grow: 1;"></iframe></div></div>&quot;He deserves it, and it was a very emotional moment,&quot; Machado later told broadcaster Fox News in an interview.&nbsp;Despite the gesture, Trump has backed Maduro&#39;s vice president, Delcy Rodriguez, over Machado &mdash; so long as she toes Washington&#39;s line, particularly on access to Venezuela&#39;s vast oil reserves.&nbsp;&ldquo;I presented the president of the United States the medal of the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/venezuelas-maria-corina-machado-wins-2025-nobel-peace-prize" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Nobel Peace Prize</a>,&rdquo; Machado told reporters outside the US Capitol, where she met with lawmakers after having lunch with Trump at the White House.&nbsp;Machado, 58, said it was &ldquo;recognition for his unique commitment to our freedom.&rdquo;&nbsp;It was not immediately clear if Trump actually kept the award following the closed-door meeting.&nbsp;The Norwegian Nobel Committee says its prizes cannot be transferred. &lsquo;Not afraid&rsquo;Trump had campaigned hard to win last year&#39;s Nobel Peace Prize for what he says are his efforts to stop eight wars. Instead, it went to Machado, who appeared in Oslo last month to collect her prize &mdash; following a daring escape from Venezuela by boat &mdash; and then dedicated it to Trump.&nbsp;Venezuela&#39;s opposition has argued and presented evidence that Maduro stole the 2024 election from the candidate of Machado&#39;s party, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia &mdash; claims supported by Washington.&nbsp;But Trump has said that Machado does not have enough support among Venezuelans, and opted to stick with former Maduro loyalist Rodriguez.&nbsp;Trump and Rodriguez had their first telephone call on Wednesday, and the White House said Thursday he &ldquo;likes what he&#39;s seeing&rdquo; with Venezuela&#39;s interim leaders.&nbsp;Rodriguez said, however, that on Thursday her government was &ldquo;not afraid&rdquo; of a diplomatic clash with Washington.&nbsp;&ldquo;We know they are very powerful. We know they are a lethal nuclear power ... we are not afraid to confront them diplomatically, through political dialogue,&rdquo; said Rodriguez.&nbsp;Rodriguez was delivering Maduro&#39;s state of the nation address to parliament while the toppled Venezuelan leader is in a New York jail facing drug trafficking charges.&nbsp;By contrast, Machado, who campaigned for years to end leftist Maduro&#39;s rule, was greeted by jubilant supporters as she left the White House.&nbsp;White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said as the lunch started that Machado was a &ldquo;remarkable and brave voice for many of the people of Venezuela.&rdquo;&nbsp;But while Leavitt said Trump was &ldquo;committed to hopefully seeing elections in Venezuela one day,&rdquo; she would not give a timeline.&nbsp;&lsquo;Wonderful gesture&rsquo;US President Donald Trump heaped praise on Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on Thursday for presenting him with &quot;her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done,&quot; after they met at the White House.&nbsp;&ldquo;She is a wonderful woman who has been through so much,&rdquo; Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, adding that Machado presenting him with the medal was &ldquo;such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect.&rdquo;

President Donald Trump meets with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado in the Oval Office on January 15, 2026, where she presents him with her Nobel Peace Prize medal.

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado says she 'presented' her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Donald Trump, adding he 'deserves' it.

Trump 'presented' Nobel Peace Prize

ISLAMABAD: Venezuela&#39;s opposition leader Maria Corina Machado is &quot;safe&quot; and will reach Oslo by Thursday at the latest, but will not accept her Nobel Peace Prize in person, Nobel officials said. Machado, who won the Nobel for challenging Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro&#39;s grip on power, is in hiding after threats to her life and has not been seen in public for months. Her presence in the Norwegian capital could put her at risk of arrest if she tries to re-enter Venezuela, which has said it will declare her a fugitive if she leaves the country. She is expected to reach Oslo &quot;sometime between this evening and tomorrow morning,&quot; the Nobel institute&#39;s director Kristian Berg Harpviken told AFP Wednesday, shortly before the ceremony, at which her daughter is set to accept the award in her place. Earlier the Nobel Institute said in a statement that Machado was &quot;safe&quot; and that &quot;she will be with us in Oslo&quot;. Machado &quot;has done everything in her power to come to the ceremony today. A journey in a situation of extreme danger,&quot; it added. Machado&#39;s mother and three daughters, and some Latin American heads of state, including Argentine President Javier Milei, are in Norway for the prize-giving at Oslo&#39;s City Hall. &#39;Fugitive&#39; laureate While organizers said Machado had previously indicated she would attend, doubts had already been raised when a traditional press conference with the award winner on Tuesday was first postponed and then cancelled. Machado has accused Maduro of stealing Venezuela&#39;s July 2024 election which she was banned from. Her claim is backed by much of the international community. Machado has been hailed for her efforts in favor of democracy, but she has also been criticized for aligning herself with US President Donald Trump, to whom she has dedicated her Nobel. The Oslo ceremony coincides with a large US military build-up in the Caribbean in recent weeks and deadly strikes on what Washington says are drug smuggling boats. Maduro insists that the goal of the US operations&mdash;which Machado has said are justified -- is to topple the government and seize Venezuela&#39;s oil reserves. Since going into hiding, Machado&#39;s only public appearance was on January 9 in Caracas where she protested against Maduro&#39;s inauguration for his third term. The opposition claimed its candidate, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia, won the election. He now lives in exile, and was also in Oslo on Wednesday. Multiple other Nobel Peace Prize winners have been unable to collect their prizes in person. Family members usually do so on their behalf, Harpviken explained this week. Doubts had been raised about how Machado would return to Venezuela if she made the trip. Her refusal to leave the country has helped boost her political power there. &quot;She risks being arrested if she returns even if the authorities have shown more restraint with her than with many others, because arresting her would have a very strong symbolic value,&quot; said Benedicte Bull, a professor specialized in Latin America at the University of Oslo. On the other hand, &quot;she is the undisputed leader of the opposition, but if she were to stay away in exile for a long time, I think that would change and she would gradually lose political influence,&quot; she added. Both pro- and anti-Machado protests are expected in Oslo on Wednesday. The Nobel laureates in medicine, physics, chemistry, literature and economics will receive their prizes at a separate ceremony in Stockholm on Wednesday.

Europe

Machado, who won the Nobel for challenging Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro's grip on power, is in hiding after threats to her life and has not been seen in public for months.

Articles tagged with "Maria Corina Machado"

Venezuela's Machado doesn't regret gifting Nobel Peace Prize to Trump

Machado says Venezuela beginning 'transition' to democracy

Trump 'presented' Nobel Peace Prize

Venezuela's Machado 'safe' but will miss Nobel Peace Prize ceremony