BREAKING: Trump Claims Venezuelan Opposition Leader Dedicated Nobel Peace prize to Him
WASHINGTON D.C. – Former President Donald Trump asserted Friday that Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado called him following the announcement of her Nobel Peace Prize to dedicate the award to him.
Machado was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize by the Norwegian Nobel Committee “for her tireless work in promoting the democratic rights of the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a fair and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.” The Committee lauded her as “one of the most extraordinary examples of civil courage in Latin america in recent times.”
According to reports, Machado initially expressed shock upon receiving the news, telling Edmundo González Urrutia, who ran in her stead during the 2024 presidential elections, “I’m in shock!… What is this? I don’t believe it.” She repeatedly emphasized the prize belonged to the venezuelan people, stating, “This is an achievement for the whole society. I’m just one person,I don’t deserve this.”
However, Trump claims a subsequent phone call took a different tone. Details of the alleged conversation were not promptly released, but Trump publicly stated Machado specifically dedicated the prize to him.
The award comes amidst ongoing political turmoil in Venezuela. President Nicolás Maduro was re-elected in 2024 in a vote widely considered fraudulent by many international observers. Machado, a popular opposition figure, was barred from running in that election by the Supreme Court of Justice, aligned with Maduro’s government, which banned her from holding public office for 15 years.
Machado, born in 1967, has been a leading voice against Maduro’s regime and was widely expected to win the July 2024 presidential election had she been allowed to participate. She currently lives in hiding in Venezuela.
This story is developing and will be updated as more information becomes available.
