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President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet Thursday with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, a White House official said Monday, as the administration navigates its role in Venezuela’s uncertain political transition.
Machado, who won the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her work promoting democracy and human rights in Venezuela, is expected to visit Washington for the White House meeting.
The session comes after a U.S. military operation earlier this month that resulted in the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. While President Trump has spoken with Machado about the country’s future, he has also elevated Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, a Maduro ally, to interim leadership in Caracas.
Machado emerged from months in hiding in late 2025 to accept her Nobel Peace Prize in Oslo, dedicating the award to “the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause,” according to Nobel Prize organizers.
In recent media interviews, Machado said she planned to share the prize with Trump, a gesture the Nobel Institute ruled is not allowed because the award “cannot be revoked, transferred or shared once awarded.”
Machado told Fox News host Sean Hannity on Monday, “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.” She added, “What he has done is historic. It’s a huge step towards a democratic transition.”
President Trump said in an interview that he looked forward to speaking with her and that any potential shared recognition would be “a great honor.”
The meeting is likely to draw attention as President Trump and his advisers shape U.S. policy on Venezuela, including discussions about elections and leadership in the country after decades of authoritarian rule.
