Machado won the prestigious prize for her struggle to rescue the South American country from its fate as ‘a brutal, authoritarian state’.
Her offer came after the January 3 raid on Venezuela’s capital, which saw the country’s leader, Nicolás Maduro, abducted and taken to New York City to stand trial on charges relating to narco terrorism.
But could Trump really be granted the Peace Prize if Machado wished?
The Nobel Committee has taken the rare step to clarify this, with many believing it has shot down any hopes that the president could get the Peace Prize through the back door.
“The Norwegian Nobel Committee and the Norwegian Nobel Institute receive a number of requests for comments regarding the permanence of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate’s status,” the organization said on its website on Friday (January 9).
“The facts are clear and well established. Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others. The decision is final and stands for all time.”
UNILAD has contacted the Nobel Committee for further comment.
Despite having a lauded candidate to take over Venezuela, Trump said that Machado was ‘not respected’ enough inside the country and that Maduro’s second-in-command, Delcy Rodríguez, would take over while the US ‘runs’ the country.
In the weeks after the US’ renewal of the Monroe Doctrine’s imperialism over South and Central America, Machado has brushed off this slight and continued to make overtures of allegiance to Trump, while praising his attack on her home country.
This, of course, included making the unprecedented offer to hand Trump her Peace Prize, barely a month after she fled Venezuela in disguise so that she could accept the prestigious international award.
The Nobel laureate previously told Fox News about dedicating her award to Trump: “Let me be very clear. As soon as I learned that we had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, I dedicated [it] to Trump because I knew at that point, he deserved it.
“And lot of people, most people said it was impossible to achieve what he has just done on Saturday, 3 January.
“And so, I believe he deserved it. January 3 will go down in history as the day justice defeated tyranny. It’s a milestone, and it’s not only huge for the Venezuelan people and our future, I think it’s a huge step for humanity, for freedom, and human dignity.”
Machado is set to meet the president in the coming days for a highly trailed meeting, with Trump telling Sean Hannity “I understand she’s coming in next week sometime, and I look forward to saying hello to her.”
But the president also hinted that he might accept the award, if he was able.
“I’ve heard that she wants to do that,” Trump said. “That could be a great honor.”