The Daily Populous Friday January 16th, 2026 morning edition
Authored by abc.net.au and submitted by HotPersimessage62

Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has gifted her Nobel Peace Prize medal to US President Donald Trump.

Ms Machado's gesture, made during a visit to the White House, came a week after the Norwegian Nobel Institute issued a statement clarifying it is not possible for the prize to be revoked or transferred.

Mr Trump nevertheless accepted the medal, taking to his Truth Social media platform to thank Ms Machado for having "presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize", which he said was in acknowledgement of "the work I have done".

"Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect. Thank you María!" he wrote.

Mr Trump also said it was his "great honour" to meet Ms Machado, saying she was "a wonderful woman who has been through so much".

The White House later posted a photo of Mr Trump and Ms Machado with the president holding up a large, gold-coloured frame displaying the medal.

María Corina Machado presents Donald Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize medal. (Reuters Photo: Daniel Torok/The White House)

Accompanying text read, "To President Donald J. Trump In Gratitude for Your Extraordinary Leadership in Promoting Peace through Strength," and labelled the gesture as a "Personal Symbol of Gratitude on behalf of the Venezuelan People".

A White House official confirmed that Mr Trump intended to keep the medal, Reuters reported.

The pair met at the White House on Thursday, local time, for lunch before Ms Machado left to meet senators at the Capitol.

As she left that second meeting and was swarmed by media, she said she had presented Mr Trump with the esteemed prize in "recognition [of] his unique commitment [to] our freedom".

Ms Machado then referenced the 200-year-old gifting of a different medal by the Marquis de Lafayette, a general who fought against the British in America's Revolutionary War, to South American revolutionary leader Simón Bolívar, to signify the pair's shared values.

Venezuelan families beg for their loved ones' release Venezuela's new leader says political prisoners are being freed, but hundreds remain jailed, with families clinging to hope that pressure from the US will eventually secure their loved ones' release

"It was given by General Lafayette as a sign of the brotherhood between the people of the United States and the people of Venezuela in their fight for freedom against tyranny," she said.

In an interview with Fox News afterwards, Ms Machado said "he deserves it, and it was a very emotional moment".

Ms Machado was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize in October for her "tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy".

She fled Venezuela late last year and has been pressing the US to help advance a democratic transition after the capture of long-time Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

Mr Trump has not been shy about his desire for the prize.

"I can't think of anybody in history that should get the Nobel Prize more than me, and I don't want to be bragging, but nobody else settled wars," he said last week.

The Norwegian Nobel Institute has been contacted for comment.

It said last week that the prize could not be transferred, shared or revoked, and that the decision to award a Nobel Prize was final and permanent.

As Ms Machado left the White House, she hugged and shook the hands of supporters waiting outside, telling them, "We can count on President Trump" for Venezuela's liberation.

White House press secretary Karoline Levitt said earlier Mr Trump had been looking forward to the meeting but that he stood by his "realistic" assessment that she did not yet have the support needed to lead the country.

Ms Machado, who fled Venezuela in a daring seaborne escape in December, is competing for Mr Trump's ear with members of Venezuela's government and seeking a role in governing the nation.

After the US seized Venezuela's leader Nicolás Maduro, various opposition figures, members of Venezuela's diaspora and politicians throughout the US and Latin America have expressed hope that Venezuela will begin the process of democratisation.

Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, one of the senators who met with Ms Machado, said she had told senators that repression in Venezuela was no different now than under Mr Maduro.

Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodríguez is a "smooth operator" who was growing more entrenched by the day thanks to Mr Trump's support, he said.

"I hope elections happen, but I'm sceptical," Senator Murphy said.

The woman Trump chose to run Venezuela Venezuela is in the hands of both President Trump and a regime loyal to its ousted leader. The country's future, including the well-being of its people, is likely to depend on how well Delcy Rodríguez can walk a tightrope between Washington's demands and her coalition's hardliners.

Mr Trump has said he is focused on securing US access to the country's oil and economically rebuilding Venezuela.

He has on several occasions praised Ms Rodríguez, Mr Maduro's second-in-command, who became Venezuela's leader after he was seized, saying she had been "very good to deal with".

Separately in Venezuela, Ms Rodríguez said she would propose reforms to her country's oil industry.

Ms Machado was banned from running in Venezuela's 2024 presidential election by a top court stacked with allies of Mr Maduro.

Observers widely believe Edmundo González, an opposition figure backed by Ms Machado, won by a large margin, but Mr Maduro claimed victory and kept power.

While the 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.

Meanwhile, the US has seized another oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea with alleged ties to Venezuela.

In a post on X, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote that the Coast Guard had boarded the ship, called the Motor Tanker Veronica.

She said the ship had travelled through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of Mr Trump's "quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean".

The ship is listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that transports oil cargoes in violation of US sanctions.

Nanaimo-omianaN on January 15th, 2026 at 21:53 UTC »

Who the fuck wants a donated award that they didn’t earn?

Tiiep on January 15th, 2026 at 21:46 UTC »

Lol this is just funny more than anything. The only one who cares about that prize at the end of the day is trump. And he doesn't even have the prize, just a piece of metal.

ribone on January 15th, 2026 at 21:44 UTC »

Absolutely pathetic.