Venezuelan Nobel Peace Prize winner gives her medal to Donald Trump
Venezuelan opposition leader, Maria Corina Machado, handed her peace prize to Donald Trump, sparking a pointed reaction from the Nobel committee.
Trump posed beaming next to Machado in the Oval Office, holding the medal encased in a glitzy golden frame.
Machado, Venezuela’s main opposition leader, who lives in exile in the US, received the iconic Nobel Peace Prize in October for her ongoing struggle to help rescue her country from its future as ‘a brutal, authoritarian state.’
She said it was ‘a historic day for us Venezuelans’ after meeting Trump for the first time yesterday and handing over her prize in the White House.
The US president said on Truth Social after the meeting: ‘It was my Great Honor to meet María Corina Machado, of Venezuela, today. She is a wonderful woman who has been through so much.
‘María presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you María!’
However, the Norwegian Nobel Peace Committee appeared dismayed by the move, saying the honour cannot be passed on or shared with anyone else.
It said in a social media post: ‘Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others. The decision is final and stands for all time.’
The Nobel Peace Center, which houses the original gold medal in Oslo, issued a statement, saying ‘a medal can change owners, but the title of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate cannot.’
Trump had signalled he was unhappy when Machado was awarded the honour last year, and he has made it clear he wishes to win it someday.
All eyes have been on Venezuela since US special forces seized Venezuela’s president Nicolas Maduro and his wife on January 3.
Within days, Trump’s administration was ready to move in to take control of the country’s vast oil reserves. The US military has stopped oil tankers suspected of transporting sanctioned Venezuelan oil.
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