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The American president Donald Trump has reportedly withdrawn his support for opposition leader María Corina Machado due to her decision to accept the Nobel Peace Prize.
According to two sources close to the White House speaking to The Washington Post, despite Machado dedicating the award to the magnate, her decision to accept it was an “unforgivable sin” for Trump, who sidelined her from playing a significant role in a future transition managed by Washington.
"If I had rejected it and said, ‘I can't accept it because it belongs to Donald Trump,’ I would be the president of Venezuela today,” said one of the sources.
The Post also reports that Trump's recent statements questioning Machado's ability to govern Venezuela took the opposition team by surprise.
This Sunday, U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated that the opposition leader María Corina Machado “is fantastic” but is outside of Venezuela.
“María Corina Machado is fantastic, and she is someone I have known for a long time, just like the entire movement, but we are dealing with the immediate reality,” Rubio said this Sunday on the NBC program Meet the Press.
"The immediate reality is that, unfortunately and sadly, the vast majority of the opposition is no longer present in Venezuela. We have urgent matters that need to be addressed immediately," he added, referring to a potential opposition-led transition.
On Saturday, Trump questioned the ability of the opposition leader María Corina Machado to govern in Venezuela.
"He doesn't have [sufficient] support within the country, he doesn't have respect within the country," said the Republican during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago this Saturday, where he explained the details of the operation that extracted Nicolás Maduro from Caracas.
She also stated that they have not contacted her since the attack.
Machado, for her part, issued a statement addressed to the people of Venezuela, in which she assured that “the time for freedom has come” and urged the citizens to remain organized and active in the democratic transition process.
In the text dated January 3, 2026, Machado stated that Nicolás Maduro is facing international justice "for the atrocious crimes committed against Venezuelans and citizens of many other nations," and emphasized that, in light of his refusal to accept a negotiated solution, the United States government has fulfilled its promise to enforce the law.
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