Maria Corina Machado, the Venezuelan opposition leader who won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, met with U.S. President Donald Trump on the 15th local time and handed over the "genuine" medal for her Nobel Peace Prize, CBS reported.
According to the report, the handover of Machado's medal took place that day at the White House during a private meeting with President Trump. The medal handed over was not a replica but the original.
According to the report, Machado gave the medal to President Trump and attached historical meaning to the gesture. Machado cited an anecdote from more than 200 years ago in which General Lafayette, a hero of the American Revolutionary War, presented Simón Bolívar, who led the independence of Venezuela and other Spanish colonies, with a medal bearing the face of George Washington, the first U.S. president.
Machado said, "Bolívar kept that medal for life," and explained, "It symbolizes the brotherhood between the American people and the Venezuelan people."
She continued, "After 200 years, Bolívar's descendants are returning the Nobel Peace Prize medal to the successor of former President Washington," adding, "This recognizes President Trump's unique contribution to Venezuela's freedom."
Earlier, in an interview with Fox News on the 5th, Machado praised President Trump's military operation as "a giant step for a democratic transition," said she wanted to share the Nobel Peace Prize, and expressed her intention to hand over the original medal.
On the 10th, the Norwegian Nobel Committee issued a statement responding to Machado's wish to share the Nobel Peace Prize with President Trump, saying, "Once a Nobel Prize has been announced, it cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to another person," making its opposition clear.
The Nobel Peace Center also said on X (formerly Twitter) that day, "While the medal's owner can change, the title of Nobel Peace Prize laureate does not."
Meanwhile, President Trump has been noncommittal about supporting Machado as the next president of Venezuela.
White House Spokesperson Karoline Leavitt said at a briefing that day, "President Trump has not changed his view that Machado lacks sufficient support and respect within Venezuela and would face difficulties governing."