Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado said Thursday that she “presented” her Nobel Peace Prize medal to President Trump during a private meeting at the White House, but he has not changed his view that she does not have the support to lead her country. The gesture was made on the day the two leaders met for the first time at the White House. As Machado left the White House, the scope of the discussions between her and the president remained unclear. She told them: “Know that we can count on President Trump for Venezuela’s freedom.”She then left to meet with a bipartisan group of U.S. senators on Capitol Hill. Asked if the president was committed to holding elections in Venezuela, Leavitt said Trump hopes to see “elections in Venezuela one day” but did not have a timeline for them yet.

Source: Los Angeles Times January 16, 2026 04:02 UTC