WASHINGTON: Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado said on Monday that she last spoke directly with US President Donald Trump in October.
“I actually spoke with President Trump on October 10, the same day the prize was announced, not since then,” Machado told Fox News.
Trump said the US military action on Saturday had resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, first lady Cilia Flores, also pledging to assert American control over the country for the time being, with US troops if necessary.
About the prize, Machado said she dedicated it to Trump the moment she won.
The Nobel Committee awarded Machado the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her efforts to defend democratic rights and promote a peaceful transition from authoritarian rule to democracy in Venezuela.
“I believe he (Trump) deserved it in October. Imagine now! I think he has proven to the world what he means. I mean, January 3 will go down in history as the day justice defeated a tyranny. It’s a milestone,” she said.
When asked whether she offered to give Trump the Nobel Peace Prize, Machado said it has not happened yet.
“I certainly want to give it to him and share it with him,” she said.
