Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado met US President Donald Trump at the White House on Thursday, presenting him with her Nobel Peace Prize medal as a gesture of recognition for his commitment to her country's freedom.

Machado confirmed the presentation to reporters after the meeting but offered no further details. The White House has not yet clarified whether Trump accepted the medal.

The encounter followed a US military raid that captured former President Nicolás Maduro, whom Trump has since dismissed Machado's credibility to replace. Despite this, Machado risked travelling to Washington, her whereabouts largely unknown since fleeing Venezuela last year after a brief detention in Caracas.

Emerging from a closed-door discussion with Trump, she greeted cheering supporters near the White House gates, hugging many and declaring, "We can count on President Trump." Supporters chanted "Thank you, Trump" in response.

"She is a wonderful woman who has been through so much," Trump said in a post on his Truth Social platform, adding that Machado presenting him with the medal was "such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect." 

This jubilant reception contrasted sharply with Trump's repeated doubts about Machado's leadership viability. He has questioned her domestic support and respect, even as her party is believed to have won the disputed 2024 elections rejected by Maduro.

Trump's administration has signalled willingness to engage with acting President Delcy Rodríguez, Maduro's former deputy, who now oversees daily government operations. Rodríguez delivered her first state of the union address during Machado's visit.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt described Machado as "a remarkable and brave voice" for Venezuelans but emphasised that the meeting did not alter Trump's assessment of her. Leavitt noted it provided a "realistic" perspective.

Trump supports fresh Venezuelan elections "when the time is right," Leavitt added, without specifying a timeline. Machado initiated the meeting without preconditions, having previously offered to share her Nobel Prize—an accolade Trump has long coveted.

The discussion lasted about two and a half hours. Machado departed without addressing queries on the medal, murmuring "gracias" amid hugs for supporters. She later reiterated giving it to Trump after a Senate meeting on Capitol Hill.

Her visit coincided with US forces seizing another sanctioned Venezuelan-linked oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea. This forms part of broader efforts to control Venezuela's oil resources following the raid that apprehended Maduro and his wife in Caracas.

The couple now faces drug trafficking trials in New York. Leavitt highlighted full cooperation from Venezuela's interim authorities, including Rodríguez's pledge to release more Maduro-era prisoners—among them five Americans freed this week.

Rodríguez has softened her stance towards Trump post-Maduro, aligning with his "America First" policies in the Western Hemisphere. Trump described a recent "great conversation" with her as productive, marking improved ties.

Even immediately after Maduro's ouster, Trump sidelined Machado, deeming leadership "very tough" for her. She has navigated delicately to court Trump and figures like Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

Machado won the Nobel Peace Prize last year but remained in hiding, missing the ceremony. Her daughter accepted it in Oslo, where Machado briefly surfaced in December.

An industrial engineer and daughter of a steel magnate, Machado co-founded the NGO Súmate in 2004 to push a failed referendum against President Hugo Chávez. She and colleagues faced conspiracy charges.

In 2005, her Washington trip to meet President George W. Bush—captured in an Oval Office handshake photo—drew Chávez's ire, given his enmity towards Bush.

Two decades on, Machado rallied millions against Maduro's 2024 re-election bid. Loyalist electoral bodies declared him victor despite contrary evidence, sparking protests crushed by security forces.

Machado's White House gambit underscores her enduring resistance role amid Trump's pragmatic pivot to Rodríguez. Yet her Nobel gesture and supporter enthusiasm signal persistent influence.

The US tanker seizures and prisoner releases reflect Trump's dual approach: pressuring remnants of Maduro's regime while stabilising interim governance through oil leverage and diplomacy. As Rodríguez consolidates power, Machado's meeting may bolster her US ties, even if Trump's scepticism lingers. Future elections remain a pivotal, undefined horizon for Venezuela's democratic path.

This episode highlights shifting alliances in post-Maduro Venezuela, with Trump's "America First" lens prioritising cooperation over ideological purity.

Based On AP Report