WASHINGTON: Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said on Thursday she "presented" her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Donald Trump, in a bid to win over the US president who had sidelined her since overthrowing Nicolas Maduro.
Her "wonderful gesture of mutual respect", as Trump called it on Thursday, comes after the Republican said the award should have gone to him instead — and after he refused to back Machado following the January 3 US military operation to capture Maduro.
"He deserves it and it was a very emotional moment", Machado said.
Despite the gesture, Trump has backed Maduro's vice president Delcy Rodriguez over Machado — so long as she toes Washington's line, particularly on access to Venezuela's vast oil reserves.
"I presented the president of the United States the medal of the Nobel Peace Prize", Machado told reporters outside the US capitol, where she met with lawmakers after having lunch with Trump at the White House.
Machado, 58, said it was "recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom". It was not immediately clear if Trump actually kept the award following the closed-door meeting.
The Norwegian Nobel committee says its prizes cannot be transferred.
Trump had campaigned hard to win last year's Nobel Peace Prize for what he says are his efforts to stop eight wars.
Instead it went to Machado, who appeared in Oslo last month to collect her prize — following a daring escape from Venezuela by boat — and then dedicated it to Trump.
Venezuela's opposition has argued and presented evidence that Maduro stole the 2024 election from the candidate of Machado's party, Edmundo Gonzalez Urrutia — claims supported by Washington.
But Trump has said that Machado does not have enough support among Venezuelans and opted to stick with former Maduro loyalist Rodriguez.
Trump and Rodriguez had their first telephone call on Wednesday and the White House said on Thursday he "likes what he's seeing" with Venezuela's interim leaders.
Rodriguez said however that on Thursday her government was "not afraid" of a diplomatic clash with Washington.
"We know they are very powerful. We know they are a lethal nuclear power... we are not afraid to confront them diplomatically, through political dialogue", said Rodriguez.
Rodriguez was delivering Maduro's state of the nation address to parliament while the toppled Venezuelan leader is in a New York jail facing drug trafficking charges.
By contrast Machado, who campaigned for years to end leftist Maduro's rule, was greeted by jubilant supporters as she left the White House.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said as the lunch started that Machado was a "remarkable and brave voice for many of the people of Venezuela". — AFP
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