Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado met President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, and said she presented him her Nobel Peace Prize medal, calling it “as a recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom,” according to her spokesperson’s office on X.
Outside the White House afterward, Machado told supporters, “We can count on President Trump.” She didn’t elaborate on what commitments, if any, were made behind closed doors. The White House did not immediately confirm whether Trump accepted the medal.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt described Machado as “a remarkable and brave voice,” but said the meeting did not change Trump’s view that Machado lacks enough support inside Venezuela to lead the country, according to AP News.
Machado later went to the U.S. Capitol to meet senators. Sen. Chris Murphy, who attended one of the meetings, said Machado warned that repression under acting President Delcy Rodríguez was “no different now than under Maduro,” as reported by Reuters.
The meeting comes as Venezuela’s political future remains unsettled following the U.S. capture of Nicolás Maduro earlier this month. Trump has publicly praised Rodríguez in recent days and said he is focused on U.S. access to Venezuela’s oil and economic rebuilding.
Machado, who has pushed Washington to back a transition, said she delivered that message directly. “I conveyed to him precisely the commitment that exists in Venezuelan society to fight for a transition,” she said in remarks shared via her account on X
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