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Maria Corina Machado dedicates Nobel Peace Prize to Donald Trump. His 'silent' response
The mention of Trump, who was the topmost claimant of the peace prize, was made in two different social media posts by Maria Corina Machado.
Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize on Friday, made an unexpected mention of US President Donald Trump even as she thanked the people of Venezuela for winning the coveted award.
The mention of Trump, who was the topmost claimant of the peace prize, was made in two different social media posts by Maria Corina, even as she lauded the relations between the US and Venezuela.
Machado was blocked from running for president and thus challenging President Nicolas Maduro by Venezuela's courts. She has been in hiding in the country for the past year since authoritarian leftist President Nicolas Maduro won the elections.
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In the first social media reaction, Machado said that her country counts on President Donald Trump and the US more than ever "to achieve freedom and democracy".
"We are on the threshold of victory and today more than ever we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our main allies to achieve Freedom and democracy," she wrote in the social media post.
The Nobel Committee cited Machado's "tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy."
In a separate post, the Nobel laureate said she dedicate the peace prize to the people of Venezuela and to President Trump "for his decisive support".
"We are on the threshold of victory and today, more than ever, we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our principal allies to achieve Freedom and democracy," she said.
"I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!" the post added.
Trump's ‘silent’ message to Corina Machado
US President Donald Trump, who had reiterated that he deserves to win the Nobel Prize for resolving international conflicts, has so far not responded to the peace award announcement.
In a post on his social media platform, he shared a screenshot of Maria Corina Machado's X post without saying anything. He is expected to make a statement on the Nobel prize later today.
Also Read: Maria Corina Machado mentions Trump in Nobel victory message: ‘We count on US President…’
White House Director of Communications Steven Cheung, while reacting to the Nobel announcement, said that the committee's decision a sign of "politics over peace".
"President Trump will continue making peace deals, ending wars, and saving lives," Steven Cheung said on X.
Machado has, however, backed Trump's ongoing campaign of military pressure on Maduro, including a major US naval deployment near Venezuela, as a "necessary measure" towards a democratic transition in the country.
Trump had also backed Machado when she was briefly detained during an anti-government protest against Nicolás Maduro in January 2025.
Trump, in a post on his social media platform, said, “Venezuelan democracy activist Maria Corina Machado and President-elect Gonzalez are peacefully expressing the voices and the WILL of the Venezuelan people with hundreds of thousands of people demonstrating against the regime. The great Venezuelan American community in the United States overwhelmingly support a free Venezuela, and strongly supported me. These freedom fighters should not be harmed, and MUST stay SAFE and ALIVE!”
With the latest announcement from the Norwegian committee, several world leaders, including Russia's Putin and Israel's Netanyahu, have already started criticizing the awarding committee for its decision.
