WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) – Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said she presented her Nobel Prize gold medal to US President Donald Trump. After the two met in Washington, she did not comment on whether Trump had accepted her gift. A little later, the US TV channel Fox News reported, citing the White House, that the President had accepted the medal.
Trump has been saying for months that he deserves the Nobel Peace Prize. But last year Machado was honored with it.
In addition to a certificate, Nobel Prize winners also receive a gold medal. Machado told reporters in Washington that she gave her medal to Trump. The Nobel Prize Institute had made it clear days ago that a Nobel Prize could not be passed on.
Machado had previously dedicated her award to Trump. She is fighting for her future role in Venezuela, where Trump had the authoritarian ruler Nicolás Maduro and his wife taken into custody with military force at the beginning of the year and brought to the USA, where they are accused of drug smuggling. Trump had previously said that Machado did not have the necessary support and respect in Venezuela to lead the country. The USA is currently relying on Maduro’s Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, who took over the top job./so/DP/zb