Venezuelan opposition figure Maria Corina Machado said Thursday that she gave US President Donald Trump her Nobel Peace Prize, defying the Nobel Committee's emphasis that the award could not be transferred.
"I presented the President of the United States with the medal of the Nobel Peace Prize," Machado told reporters at the Capitol after her meeting with Trump and later lawmakers. Machado said she gave Trump the prestigous award out of "recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom."
The Norwegian Nobel Institute said Friday that its peace prize could not be transferred after Machado suggested she might give her 2025 award to Trump.
"The facts are clear and well-established. Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others. The decision is final and stands for all time," it said Friday.
The prize was awarded to Machado for her efforts "promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy."
Machado earlier told a group of Democratic and Republican senators that she would take Venezuela "from the criminal hub of the Americas" into what she called a "security shield for the whole hemisphere."
"We're going to secure institutions, rule of law, open markets, and bring back the huge Venezuelan diaspora that has suffered a lot, but also learned a lot," she said, according to a video of the remarks shared by her spokesperson.
Machado's meetings in Washington followed a US military operation ordered by Trump that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores on Jan. 3. Maduro and Flores were subsequently flown out of Venezuela and then on to the US, where they are standing trial on guns and weapons charges.
Trump has so far refused to endorse Machado to lead Venezuela, saying she lacks the support and respect of the Venezuelan people.
"I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader," Trump said in the immediate aftermath of Maduro's capture. "She doesn't have the support within, or the respect within, the country. She's a very nice woman, but she doesn't have the respect."
It is unclear if his opinion of the Venezuelan politician has changed since she gave him her Nobel prize, but the White House hailed relations with Venezuela's interim authorities on Thursday as the president met with Machado.
Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said administration officials, including Secretary of State Marco Rubio, "have been in constant communication" with Venezuelan interim President Delcy Rodriguez in the wake of President Nicolas Maduro's capture, describing the interim government as being "extremely cooperative" with the US.
"They have thus far met all of the demands and requests of the United States and of the president," said Leavitt, pointing to the sale of $500 million worth of Venezuelan oil and Caracas' release of political prisoners. "The president likes what he's seeing and will expect that cooperation to continue."
