WASHINGTON: Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado said on Thursday she "presented" her Nobel Peace Prize medal to Donald Trump, in a bid to win over the US president who had sidelined her since overthrowing Nicolas Maduro.
Her "wonderful gesture of mutual respect," as Trump called it Thursday, comes after the Republican said the award should have gone to him instead — and after he refused to back Machado following the January 3 US military operation to capture Maduro.
"He deserves it, and it was a very emotional moment," Machado later told broadcaster Fox News in an interview.
Despite the gesture, Trump has backed Maduro's vice president Delcy Rodriguez over Machado — so long as she toes Washington's line, particularly on access to Venezuela's vast oil reserves.
"I presented the president of the United States the medal of the Nobel Peace Prize," Machado told reporters outside the US capitol, where she met with lawmakers after having lunch with Trump at the White House.
Machado, 58, said it was "recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom."
It was not immediately clear if Trump actually kept the award following the closed-door meeting.
The Norwegian Nobel committee says its prizes cannot be transferred.
