The President of the United States, Donald Trump, publicly praised the Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado this Friday, stating that she earned "a lot of respect" from him following their meeting the day before at the White House, while also confirming that they will speak again.
Trump's statements were shared this Friday by political analyst Emmanuel Rincón on the social network X, where the president claimed to have had “a great meeting” with Machado, whom he stated he did not know beforehand and described as “a great woman.”
According to Trump, the meeting left a positive impression on him both personally and politically.
In a second video shared on the social network by journalist Aaron Rupar, Trump explained that Machado offered him her Nobel Peace Prize as a symbolic gesture.
“She said, ‘You have finished eight wars, and no one deserves this award more than you,’” recounted the president, who described the action as “very beautiful” and reiterated his high regard for the opposition leader.
After the meeting, Machado publicly thanked Trump and stated that the conversation reaffirms "the deep trust of Venezuelans in the United States and in its leadership."
He also stated that both share the vision of building "a free and sovereign Venezuela," and added that his country will be a strategic ally of Washington in the hemisphere.
Neither the White House nor Machado herself clarified whether the Nobel was formally awarded or if the gesture was symbolic.
In this regard, the Nobel Institute reminded that the award cannot be transferred, although the opposition leader has indicated that her action represents the unity between the defense of freedom and the rejection of tyranny.
The meeting took place at a time of friction between Machado and the Trump administration. Although the president has praised her, he has also advocated for a temporary alliance with Venezuela's interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, following the capture of Nicolás Maduro on January 3, arguing that it aims to prevent a chaotic scenario similar to that of Iraq.
Machado warned that Rodríguez is part of the same Chavista system and that a transition without justice or the dismantling of the repressive apparatus is doomed to failure.
In recent statements before U.S. senators and representatives from think tanks in Washington, she emphasized that there is a popular mandate for profound change and that she and Edmundo González Urrutia are ready to assume power when the time comes.
The contrast between Trump's personal praises for Machado and Washington's strategic support for Rodríguez highlights the central axis of the debate on Venezuela's immediate future and the role that the democratic opposition will play in the transition.
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