Nobel Peace Prize medallion presented to Trump by Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado

Washington — Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado presented President Trump with her real Nobel Peace Prize medallion during her visit to the White House on Thursday, two White House officials told CBS News, and later at the Capitol, Machado confirmed she had done so. 

The medallion, which was not a replica, the sources said, was presented after Machado offered to share her Nobel Prize with him for what she said was his "historic" action of removing former Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro from power.

Mr. Trump confirmed that Machado gave him the medal in a Truth Social post, calling it a "wonderful gesture of mutual respect." He called Machado a "wonderful woman who has been through so much." 

Machado told senators on Capitol Hill she had an "extraordinary" meeting with Mr. Trump, according to a post from her spokesperson's office translated into English. 

Machado told reporters on Capitol Hill that she had presented Mr. Trump with the medal, and she suggested that in doing so, she was completing a kind of reciprocal gesture. 

She said she told him, "Two hundred years ago, General Lafayette gave Simon Bolivar a medal with George Washington's face [on] it. Bolivar...kept that medal for the rest of his life." She added, "When you see his portraits, you can see the medal there, and it was given by General Lafayette as a sign of the brotherhood between the United States, people of United States, and the people of Venezuela in their fight for freedom against tyranny." Now, 200 years later, "the people of Bolivar are giving back to the heir of Washington a medal — in this case, a medal of the Nobel Peace Prize — as a recognition of his unique commitment with our freedom." 

Machado had floated the possibility of sharing the prize with Mr. Trump earlier this month. The president has not divulged details of their conversation. 

"I certainly would love to be able to personally tell him that we believe — the Venezuelan people, because this is a prize of the Venezuelan people — certainly want to, to give it to him and share it with him," Machado told Fox News host Sean Hannity. "What he has done is historic. It's a huge step towards a democratic transition."

After Machado's offer to share the prize with the president, Norwegian Nobel Committee Chair Jørgen Watne Frydnes clarified it cannot be shared or transferred. The Nobel Peace Center also said Thursday, "A medal can change owners, but the title of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate cannot."

Machado was awarded the prize for being a "key, unifying figure in a political opposition that was once deeply divided — an opposition that found common ground in the demand for free elections and representative government." 

The Trump administration has said little about a democratic transition in Venezuela. The country's interim president is Delcy Rodríguez, who was Maduro's vice president. Mr. Trump spoke Wednesday with Rodríguez, calling her a "terrific person."

In a statement Thursday night, Machado said she told Mr. Trump during their meeting that Venezuela "is ready to move forward swiftly and responsibly toward a democratic transition and toward a long-term relationship between the United States and Venezuela—one that is mutually beneficial and puts people at the center."

She said the two had a "calm and in-depth discussion" about the challenges facing the Latin American country. She also said she spoke to Mr. Trump about Edmundo González Urrutia, the opposition leader who ran against Maduro in the disputed 2024 election, before fleeing the country. Machado was part of the coalition that supported González Urrutia's candidacy.

In her statement, she referred to González Urrutia as the "President-elect of Venezuela." 

Mr. Trump has not endorsed Machado to be Venezuela's next president, as some thought he might after Maduro's arrest, despite the recognition she's received for her efforts to restore democracy to the struggling country. He has said he thinks it would be "tough" for Machado to lead Venezuela because "she doesn't have the support within — or the respect within — the country." 

But Machado, asked in a recent interview by "CBS Evening News" anchor Tony Dokoupil if she believes she is the right person to lead Venezuela in the first chapter of its post-Maduro future, said that "the people of Venezuela have already chosen," adding that her coalition is "ready and willing to serve our people, as we have been mandated."

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said Thursday the president "was looking forward to this meeting and he was expecting it to be a good and positive discussion with Miss Machado, who is really a remarkable and brave voice for many people of the people of Venezuela."

As for the president's assessment that it would be hard for her to lead Venezuela because, in his words, she lacks the support, Leavitt said "at this moment in time, his opinion on that matter has not changed." 

On Thursday morning, the Pentagon confirmed the seizure of yet another oil tanker in the Caribbean, at least the sixth such seizure of a tanker carrying Venezuelan oil.

The U.S. officially began selling Venezuelan oil this week. The first U.S. sale of Venezuelan oil, valued at $500 million, has been completed, an administration official said Wednesday. Mr. Trump says the U.S. will be selling up to 50 million barrels of Venezuelan oil, if not more. 

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Thursday on Newsmax that the funds will likely start moving back to Venezuela as soon as Friday.