MADRID, Spain — Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said on Saturday in Madrid that she has no regrets about symbolically giving her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Donald Trump during a January meeting at the White House, following a US military operation against Nicolas Maduro.
Machado made the statement during a news conference, where she said Trump took actions that she described as contributing to Venezuela’s freedom.
She presented the Nobel medal to Trump in January, about two weeks after US forces carried out an operation in Caracas that resulted in Maduro’s capture.
The Norwegian Nobel Committee said after the meeting that the Nobel Peace Prize cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred, although the physical medal may change hands.
Machado said the US operation to detain Maduro, who is now facing drug charges in New York, was significant for Venezuelans.
She reiterated that she does not regret her decision to give the medal to Trump.
Machado left Venezuela in December 2025 to receive the Nobel Prize and has since participated in international engagements, including events in Madrid.
She told supporters at a public gathering that they should prepare to return to Venezuela, referring to efforts to rebuild the country after years of political crisis.
Venezuela’s opposition has called for new presidential elections. Machado has not said whether she will run.
She was barred from participating in the 2024 presidential election, in which Maduro claimed victory, a result disputed by opposition groups.