OPPOSITION LEADER BACK IN VENEZUELA: Trump Hopes Machado Is Safe After Her Nobel Medal Gift

 

President Donald Trump has weighed in on opposition leader Marรญa Corina Machado's dramatic return to Venezuela, and his answer was as notable for what he left out as for what he said. Asked about it by reporters on Sunday, October 25, 2026, Trump said he didn't know anything about her return, but added, "I think she's a very nice woman. She gave me her Nobel Prize, so how can I say anything else?" He said he hoped she is safe and insisted the U.S. is "doing really well in Venezuela." Machado reappeared at a church in the state of Lara after more than ten months abroad, her first time back in the country since she slipped out in December to accept the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize in Norway.

That remark about the prize goes back to earlier this year, when Machado handed Trump her Nobel medal in what appeared to be an effort to speed up Venezuela's democratic transition. The Nobel Committee has said the prize and the laureate are inseparable, which means the honor itself cannot be handed over to someone else. After U.S. forces removed Nicolรกs Maduro in January, Trump chose to work with acting president Delcy Rodrรญguez, a longtime Maduro ally, and said at the time that Machado lacked the support and respect needed to lead. Machado has been demanding a date for a presidential election, but none has been scheduled. So the big questions now are whether she will be safe at home, and whether her return changes anything about who really holds power in Caracas.