Venezuelan opposition leader gives Trump her Nobel Peace Prize

Venezuela's opposition leader in exile has told reporters she presented US President Donald Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize in their meeting at the White House. Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado departs the White House after meeting with President Donald Trump.(AP) Trump previously said Machado was not a suitable leader for Venezuela.(AP) Machado greets supporters outside the White House.(AP) She also met with US senators on Capitol Hill.(AP) Maria Corina Machado, whose party many observers deem to have won the 2024 election victory claimed by ousted ex-president Nicolas Maduro, met with Donald Trump behind closed doors this morning (AEDT time). She arrived from an unknown location, having left Venezuela last year after she was briefly detained by authorities in Caracas. After meeting Trump, she mingled with supporters near the White House gates. "We can count on President Trump," she said, according to media on-site, but otherwise did not open up on the content of their conversation. She next spoke with several senators on Capitol Hill, before speaking to reporters, when she told them of the Nobel presentation, saying it was in recognition of "his unique commitment with our freedom". Associated Press reported there was no immediate word from the White House as to whether the gift had been accepted. Trump has previously been dismissive about the idea of Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize coveted by the US president in 2025, leading Venezuela in the wake of US forces kidnapping Maduro to stand trial in New York. Prior to their meeting, he said she did not have the respect or support inside the country to do so, despite the broad international assessment of her electoral success. Since Machado left the White House, press secretary Karoline Leavitt, while hailing her as "a remarkable and brave voice", said Trump's opinion had not changed. It was, Leavitt said, "a realistic assessment". Trump has also signalled a willingness to engage with interim president Delcy Rodriguez, a Maduro loyalist and his former vice president. The pair have talked on the phone, with Trump characterising it as a "great conversation" on a wide range of topics. Rodriguez, for her part, has varied her tone on the US and Trump. Originally condemning the kidnapping of Maduro and demanding his return, she has since said she is open to diplomacy with the US and may even be willing to open up Venezuela's nationalised oil industry to foreign investment. The US, meanwhile, has continued targeting Venezuelan oil tankers, seizing a sixth one this morning . DOWNLOAD THE 9NEWS APP : Stay across all the latest in breaking news, sport, politics and the weather via our news app and get notifications sent straight to your smartphone. Available on the Apple App Store and Google Play  .

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