María Corina Machado, Venezuela’s leader of the opposition, has said she wants to give her Nobel Peace Prize to Donald Trump.
Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in October for her “tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela”, has praised the US’s military action in the country.
She said the capture and arrest of former president Nicolas Maduro is a “huge step for humanity, for freedom and human dignity.”
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However, despite being leader of the opposition, Machado was not endorsed by the US as Venezuela’s new leader, with Maduro’s vice-president Delcy Rodriguez instead being sworn in.
The Washington Post reported that one of the reasons Trump chose not to back Machado was because she didn’t offer to give up her peace prize for him, something sources close to the White House labelled the “ultimate sin.”
Following the reports, Machado was asked by Fox News if she had “at any point offered to give” Trump the Nobel Peace Prize.
She responded: “It hasn’t happened yet, but I certainly would love to be able to personally tell him, the Venezuelan people – because this is a prize of the Venezuelan people – certainly want to give it to him, share it with him.”
Machado added that Trump’s actions in Venezuela were “historic” and a “huge step towards a democratic transition.”
Reacting to her comments on X, American media company MeidasTouch said it was a “very sad sight to watch for so many reasons.”
Others labelled it “embarrassing.”
Machado has said she is “grateful” for Donald Trump’s actions.
She left Venezuela in December to accept the Nobel Peace Prize and has not returned to the country since.
In awarding her the peace prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee praised her “struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy”.