President Trump announces meeting with Maria Corina Machado next week
This will be the first meeting between President Donald Trump and Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Colina Machado.
The Norwegian Nobel Institute will not hand over the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to President Donald Trump, despite recent indications that Venezuelan opposition leader María Colina Machado will do so.
In a statement, the Nobel Institute clarified: “A Nobel Prize cannot be revoked, shared or transferred to another person. Once announced, the decision remains in effect forever.”
According to the Nobel Institute, “It is impossible to revoke the Nobel Peace Prize. Neither Alfred Nobel’s will nor the Nobel Foundation’s constitution mention such a possibility.”
The Nobel Institute’s position comes after President Trump announced in a sit-down interview on Fox News’ “Hannity” on January 8 that Machado would be coming to the United States “sometime next week.” During the interview, host Sean Hannity asked President Trump whether he would meet Machado to accept the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize if she presented him with it.
President Trump responded, “I hear she’s going to be somewhere next week and I’m looking forward to saying hello to her. I hear she would like to do that. It would be a great honor.”
Appearing on Fox News’ “Hannity” on January 5, Machado said awarding Trump the Nobel Peace Prize would be an act of gratitude from the Venezuelan people for removing leader Nicolas Maduro, who was detained by the United States on January 3.
“Did you ever offer to give him the Nobel Peace Prize?” Hannity asked. “Did that actually happen?”
Machado replied, “Well, that hasn’t happened yet.”
“As a general rule,” the institute’s committee said, “we do not comment on the behavior of Peace Prize winners after receiving their award.”
“The committee’s mandate is limited to evaluating the achievements and efforts of the nominees up to the moment when the Nobel Peace Prize winner for the year is determined,” the statement said.
Who is Maria Colina Machado?
Machado, 58, won the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2025 for his “tireless efforts to advance the democratic rights of the Venezuelan people and his struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy,” according to the Nobel Institute.
The Venezuelan opposition leader’s fight for democracy dates back to the early 2000s, when she co-founded Sumate, a volunteer civil society group that seeks to strengthen democracy abroad through a variety of means, including monitoring elections.
Machado’s influence led her to enter politics, and in 2010 she was elected to the Venezuelan National Assembly. In March 2014, she was removed from her position by the regime, which led her to become opposition leader.
According to the Nobel Institute, Machado has been appointed as the opposition candidate in the 2024 presidential election. However, the government blocked her from running. She then decided to support another candidate.
According to the prestigious institute, when Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize, she was living in hiding because of the threats she faced. It is unclear where Machado is now that Maduro, who the United States strongly opposed, has been captured. Nevertheless, President Trump said he was awaiting her expected visit.
Contributor: James Powell, USA TODAY
