Trump hosts Machado at White House but praises Venezuela’s ‘terrific’ interim leader

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said 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 Nicolás Maduro.

Her extraordinary gesture comes after Trump had said the award should have gone to him instead – and after he refused to back Machado following his controversial January 3 US military operation to capture Maduro.

Trump has instead backed Maduro's vice-president Delcy Rodriguez, 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 González 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 Rodríguez.

First call

Trump and Rodríguez had their first telephone call on Wednesday and the White House said Thursday he "likes what he's seeing" with Venezuela's interim leaders.

Rodríguez said however that 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," she said.

Rodríguez was delivering Maduro's state of the nation address to the National Assembly 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.

Her meeting with Trump was an opportunity for her to bring the the issue of a democratic transition back into the foreground.

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."

But while Leavitt said Trump was "committed to hopefully seeing elections in Venezuela one day," she would not give a timeline.

Sixth tanker seizure

Since Maduro's capture, Trump has said the United States will "run" Venezuela – exerting pressure through a naval blockade and threats of further attacks – but has appeared content to let Rodríguez remain in power so long as oil keeps flowing.

US forces on Thursday seized a sixth oil tanker in its campaign to control the South American country's critical fossil fuel sector.

Separately, the first US-brokered sale of Venezuelan oil, worth around US$500 million, has been finalised, a US official told AFP on Thursday without identifying the buyer.

Rodríguez in her speech also announced plans for legal reforms to Venezuela's oil sector – which currently limit the involvement of foreign entities – but did not give specific details.

Washington has also hailed the release of dozens of political prisoners in the past week, though hundreds remain behind bars.

Meanwhile the shockwaves from the lightning US raid that toppled Maduro continue to reverberate.

Cuba paid tribute on Thursday to 32 soldiers killed in the operation, some of whom had been assigned to Maduro's protection team, in a ceremony attended by revolutionary leader Raul Castro.

– TIMES/AFP