Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gave her Nobel Peace Prize medal to US President Donald Trump on Thursday during a White House meeting, in a bid to influence his efforts to shape her country's political future.
A White House official confirmed that Trump intends to keep the medal.
In a social media post on Thursday evening, Trump wrote: "Maria presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you Maria!"
Machado, who described the meeting as "excellent," said the gift was in recognition of what she called his commitment to the freedom of the Venezuelan people.
The White House later posted a photo of Trump and Machado with the president holding up a large, gold-colored frame displaying the medal.
Accompanying text read, "To President Donald J. Trump In Gratitude for Your Extraordinary Leadership in Promoting Peace through Strength," and labeled the gesture as a "Personal Symbol of Gratitude on behalf of the Venezuelan People."
Trump met with Machado in a high-stakes encounter that could affect how the Republican administration seeks to shape the South American country's political future.
The lunch meeting, which appeared to last slightly over an hour, marked the first time the two have met in person. Machado then met with more than a dozen senators, both Republican and Democratic, on Capitol Hill, where she has generally found more enthusiastic allies.
While the visit was ongoing, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Trump had been looking forward to meeting Machado, but that he stood by his "realistic" assessment that she did not currently have the support needed to lead the country in the short term.
Machado, who fled Venezuela in a daring seaborne escape in December, is competing for Trump's ear with members of Venezuela's government and seeking to ensure she has a role in governing the nation going forward.
After the captured Venezuela's longtime leader, Nicolas Maduro, in a snatch-and-grab operation this month, various opposition figures, members of Venezuela's diaspora and politicians throughout the and Latin America have expressed hope that Venezuela will begin the process of democratization.
"I know the president was looking forward to this meeting, and he was expecting it to be a good and positive discussion with Miss Machado, who is really a remarkable and brave voice for many of the people of Venezuela," Leavitt told reporters during a briefing as the meeting was ongoing.
Hopes of a move to democracy
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, one of the senators who met with Machado, said the opposition leader had told senators that repression in Venezuela was no different now than under Maduro. Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodriguez is a "smooth operator" who was growing more entrenched by the day thanks to Trump's support, he said.
"I hope elections happen, but I'm skeptical," said Murphy, of Connecticut.
Trump has said he is focused on securing access to the country's oil and economically rebuilding Venezuela.
Trump has on several occasions praised Rodriguez, Maduro's second-in-command, who became Venezuela's leader upon his capture. In an interview with Reuters on Wednesday, Trump said, "She's been very good to deal with."
Separately in Venezuela, Rodriguez said she would propose reforms to her country's oil industry.
Machado was banned from running in Venezuela's 2024 presidential election by a top court stacked with Maduro allies. Outside observers widely believe Edmundo Gonzalez, an opposition figure backed by Machado, won by a substantial margin, but Maduro claimed victory and retained power.
While the current government has freed dozens of political prisoners in recent days, outside groups and advocates have said the scale of the releases has been exaggerated by Caracas.
Asked on Wednesday if he wanted Machado to give him the prize, Trump told Reuters: "No, I didn't say that. She won the Nobel Peace Prize."
Norwegian Nobel Institute: Prize cannot be transferred
The Norwegian Nobel Institute reaffirmed that the Nobel Peace Prize cannot be transferred, shared, or revoked again in a statement released on Friday.
"Regardless of what may happen to the medal, the diploma, or the prize money, it is and remains the original laureate who is recorded in history as the recipient of the prize," the Institute wrote.
They did specify that Nobel laureates are free to "keep, give away, sell or donate" the medal, diploma, or prize money granted. Several Nobel laureates have donated their medals to museums, and others have sold them, such as 2021 laureate Dmitry Muratov, who sold his medal for $103.5 million and donated the proceeds to UNICEF, and 1988 Physics Prize laureate Leon Lederman, who sold his medal for $765,002 to cover medical expenses.
The Nobel Prize medal has also been sent to another individual before, notably when 1920 Literature Prize laureate Knut Hamsun sent his to German Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels in 1943.