The Norwegian Nobel Committee and the Norwegian Nobel Institute said a Nobel Peace Prize cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred once it has been announced, pushing back on talk that Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado could hand her award to President Donald Trump.
Machado was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize by the Norwegian Nobel Committee, according to the official press release from NobelPrize.org. The NobelPrize.org site lists her as the sole laureate.
In a statement dated Jan. 9, the Norwegian Nobel Institute said the rules are settled under the Nobel Foundation’s statutes and that the decision “stands for all time.” The institute also noted that Nobel bodies do not comment on a laureate’s actions or statements after the award.
The Nobel Institute’s clarification came after comments made on Fox News. Machado raised the idea of giving or sharing the prize with Trump, and that Trump said it would be an honor to accept it if she offered it. Fox News reported the exchange in its coverage of the institute’s response.
Trump has publicly argued for years that he deserves a Nobel Peace Prize. In recent months, Pakistan’s government said it decided to recommend Trump for the 2026 Nobel Peace Prize in a statement posted by the Government of Pakistan. Israel’s government also said Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gave Trump a nomination letter, according to a release from gov.il.
Machado’s remarks also came amid Trump administration statements about Venezuela. The White House has posted a video of Trump discussing the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro, including a clip dated Jan. 9 from The White House.
Maduro has faced U.S. criminal allegations since Trump’s first term. In 2020, the U.S. Department of Justice announced narco-terrorism and other charges against Maduro and other Venezuelan officials. A current State Department page, U.S. Department of State, also summarizes those charges.
