Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said she would give her Nobel Peace Prize to Donald Trump.
The statement highlights the deep alignment between the Venezuelan opposition and the former U.S. president, signaling a preference for the aggressive diplomatic approach Trump used during his term to pressure the government of Nicolás Maduro.
Machado made the comments during a Fox News interview in March 2023 [1]. During the segment, she said she was grateful for the decisive support Trump provided to the opposition and sought to bring attention to the suffering of the Venezuelan people [2].
"I would absolutely give my Nobel Peace Prize to Donald Trump," Machado said in the interview [3]. In another instance during the broadcast, she said, "Trump will be the one who gets my Nobel Peace Prize" [4].
The comments have since drawn scrutiny regarding the rules of the Nobel Committee. While Machado reportedly received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 [5], the Nobel Institute has said that the prize cannot be transferred or awarded to another person [6].
Because the award is non-transferable, the Nobel Institute said that any such gesture by a laureate remains symbolic only [7]. The dedication serves as a political statement of gratitude, rather than a legal transfer of the award or its accompanying funds.
Machado has frequently positioned herself as a primary challenger to the current Venezuelan administration. Her willingness to publicly align herself with Trump underscores a strategy of seeking strong international backing to facilitate a change in leadership within Venezuela.
“"I would absolutely give my Nobel Peace Prize to Donald Trump,"”
This exchange underscores the ideological bond between the Venezuelan opposition and the 'maximum pressure' campaign associated with the Trump administration. By offering a prestigious global award, Machado is not performing a legal transaction but is instead leveraging a high-profile symbolic gesture to secure continued political and diplomatic support from US conservatives.
