Venezuela opposition leader Machado says she 'presented' her Nobel Peace Prize to Trump

Venezuela opposition leader Machado says she ‘presented’ her Nobel Peace Prize to Trump Click here to listen to this article Share via The White House said Trump met with Machado to have ‘frank and positive discussion about what’s taking place in Venezuela.’ So far, Trump says he is happy with his administration’s working relationship with Venezuela’s acting president, Delcy Rodríguez. WASHINGTON - Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said Thursday that she “presented” her Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Trump during a private meeting at the White House, but he has not changed his view that she does not have the support to lead her country. Machado, who won the prize last year for her work to promote democracy in Venezuela, said she presented the 18-carat gold medal to Trump as a “recognition of his unique commitment to our freedom.” It is unclear whether the president, who has been fixated on getting the prize in recent year, accepted it. The Nobel Peace Center has maintained the award cannot be transferred . The gesture was made on the day the two leaders met for the first time at the White House. The highly anticipated get-together came as the United States has allowed top deputies of deposed president Nicolás Maduro’s regime to remain in charge as Trump oversees the transition of power. White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters that Trump went into the meeting without any expectations, other than to have a “frank and positive discussion about what’s taking place in Venezuela.” Leavitt added that Trump continues to assert that Machado does not have the “support” or “respect” to lead Venezuela, an assessment he first made on the day of Maduro’s capture to the surprise of many Venezuelans. The president’s threat comes a day after a federal immigration officer shot and wounded a Minneapolis man who authorities said had attacked the officer. “At this moment in time, his opinion on that matter has not changed,” Leavitt said at a news briefing. While Leavitt described Machado as a “remarkable and brave voice for many of the people in Venezuela,” she also said the United States had found an “extremely cooperative” partner in Maduro’s handpicked vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, who is serving as acting president of Venezuela. “They have met all of the demands and requests of the United States and the president,” Leavitt said, noting that the Venezuelan government already agreed to release political prisoners and reached a $100-billion deal to rebuild Venezuela’s energy sector. As Machado left the White House, the scope of the discussions between her and the president remained unclear. She did not take questions from the reporters, but a few of them were able to capture a moment on video when she was greeted by supporters outside the White House. She told them: “Know that we can count on President Trump for Venezuela’s freedom.” She then left to meet with a bipartisan group of U.S. senators on Capitol Hill. It was after this meeting that Machado...

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