Maria Corina Machado Photo: Ole Berg-Rusten / NTB Scanpix / Profimedia
Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said she would “love” to personally award President Donald Trump the Nobel Peace Prize, telling Fox News that Venezuelans believe Trump deserves the honor for his role in toppling Nicolás Maduro's regime, writes the Miami Herald
Machado made the remarks during an appearance on Monday night after US airstrikes over the weekend led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
Machado's comments come amid questions about Venezuela's political future after Maduro's ouster — and after Trump publicly rejected the idea of Machado serving as interim leader.
Machado dedicated the Nobel Peace Prize to Trump as soon as he learned he had won it, arguing that his actions against Maduro marked a historic turning point.
“As soon as I found out that I received the Nobel Peace Prize, I dedicated it to Trump, because I knew at the time that he deserved it,” Machado said, referring to the US military operation that culminated in Maduro's capture.
The talk show host pushed back on claims that Trump refused to endorse her as Venezuela's interim leader, in part because she accepted the Nobel Prize instead of awarding it to him. Trump publicly confirmed that position the day after the attacks, saying it would be “very hard for her to be a leader” and claiming she doesn't have enough support domestically.
Machado responded that she last spoke with Trump on Oct. 10, the day the Nobel prizes were announced, and said she remained grateful to him for his “courageous vision” and “historic actions” against what she called “narco-terrorists” within the Venezuelan regime.
Asked directly if she offered to give Trump the Nobel Prize, Machado said that while it hasn't happened yet, she hopes it will. “I would certainly like to be able to tell him personally that we believe – the Venezuelan people, because this is an award of the Venezuelan people – that we certainly want to give it and share it with him,” she said.
The moderator described Machado's dedication of the award as unusual, noting that she publicly said Trump “deserved it more than me,” a gesture she pointed out as rare between leaders of different countries. Machado also told the host that he plans to return to Venezuela “as soon as possible”.
María Corina Machado wrote in October about X after winning the Nobel Peace Prize: “We are on the verge of victory and today, more than ever, we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America and the democratic nations of the world as our main allies to achieve freedom and democracy. I dedicate this award to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!”
