Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado offered President Donald Trump her Nobel Peace Prize, but the Norwegian Nobel Institute said it cannot be “transferred to others.”
“Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared or transferred to others,” the institute said in a statement Friday. “The decision is final and stands for all time.”
Machado last Monday told Fox News she wanted to give the prize to Trump as an act of gratitude for the U.S. military’s stunning capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro.
“Did you at any point offer to give him the Nobel Peace Prize?” Hannity asked. “Did that actually happen?”
She responded, “Well, it hasn’t happened yet.
“But 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.”
Trump on Thursday said it would be a “great honor” to accept the award from Machado, adding that it was a “major embarrassment to Norway” that he did not win the prize.
The two have a planned meeting in Washington next week.
Machado, a former National Assembly member, was barred from running in Venezuela’s 2024 general election by authorities aligned with Maduro.
She backed a stand‑in candidate who was widely considered to have won the vote, although Maduro claimed victory. Ballot audits by independent observers showed irregularities in the official results.
Machado won the 2025 prize for her leadership in the struggle for democracy against Maduro's regime, recognized for promoting human rights and a peaceful transition from dictatorship.
The U.S. captured Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, last week. The couple pleaded not guilty Monday to federal drug trafficking and other charges and are being held at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn.
Reuters contributed to this report.
Solange Reyner ✉
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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