Washington, January 16 : Former US President Donald Trump has described his meeting with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado as a great honour, after she presented him with her Nobel Peace Prize medal.
Taking to social media platform X, Trump said he was delighted to meet Machado, calling her a remarkable woman who has endured immense hardship in her fight for democracy. He said Machado handed over her Nobel Peace Prize medal to him as a symbol of mutual respect and shared democratic values.
This marked the first meeting between Trump and Machado, held during a private lunch at the White House. The closed-door discussion reportedly focused on Venezuela’s political future and democratic principles.
Speaking to the media later, Machado said the medal symbolised the deep-rooted democratic traditions shared by Venezuela and the United States. She drew a historical parallel, recalling how French General Marquis de Lafayette once gifted Venezuelan leader Simón Bolívar a medal bearing George Washington’s image — a keepsake Bolívar cherished for life.
Machado said that two centuries later, Bolívar’s people were returning a medal to Washington’s successor, this time in the form of the Nobel Peace Prize, recognising Trump’s commitment to freedom and independence.
Following the White House meeting, Machado visited Capitol Hill, where she attended a bipartisan meeting with US senators hosted by Democratic Whip Dick Durbin and Senator Jeanne Shaheen.
Durbin praised Machado as an extraordinary leader who risked her life to bring democratic change in Venezuela, while Shaheen cautioned that removing a dictator alone does not guarantee democracy and warned against replacing one authoritarian regime with another.
It is noteworthy that earlier this week, Machado also met the Pope at the Vatican, urging intervention for the release of political prisoners in Venezuela.
