PoliticsDonald Trump Deserves Nobel Peace Prize After Venezuela Capture, Claims Award Winner: 'I Want to Give It to Him'
Maria Corina Machado thinks Donald Trump deserves the award after his work in Venezuela.
Jan. 7 2026, Published 8:05 a.m. ET
Maria Corina Machado — the Venezuelan opposition leader awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize — says President Donald Trump now deserves the honor too after U.S. forces captured Nicolás Maduro.
The 58-year-old has been living in hiding since the country’s most recent disputed election.
Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado said Donald Trump deserves the award.
"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, want to give it to him and share it with him," Machado told host Sean Hannity on Fox News' Hannity on Tuesday, January 6.
In October 2025, when Machado won her Nobel Peace Prize, she dedicated it to Trump.
She praised the president for his support in her fight for democracy in her country.
The politician accepted the honor "in his name and in the name of the Venezuelan people," per LiveNOW from Fox.
Maria Corina Machado is the Venezuelan opposition leader.
Trump later commented on Machado's win while listing the peace efforts he made in 2025.
"The person who actually got the Nobel Prize called me and said, 'I’m accepting this in honor of you because you really deserved it,'" he said.
"I didn’t say, 'Then give it to me,'" he added, stirring some laughter. "I think she might have. She was very nice."
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Return to Venezuela
She has been in hiding since the last election.
She also shared with Fox News Digital that she would be returning to the South American country very soon.
"Well, first of all, I’m planning to go back to Venezuela as soon as possible," Machado declared.
"As I’ve always said, Sean, every day I make a decision where I am more useful for our cause," she added. "That’s why I stayed in hiding for over 16 months, and that’s why I decided to go out, because I believed that at this moment I’m more useful to our cause, being able to speak out from where I’m at right now. But I’m going to go as soon possible back home."
'Doesn't Have the Respect'
She previously dedicated her Nobel Peace Prize to Donald Trump.
The politician's praise comes after Trump questioned her leadership on Saturday, January 3.
"I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country. She's a very nice woman, but she doesn't have the respect," Trump said, per ABC News.
