Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado confirmed Thursday that she presented President Trump with her Nobel Peace Prize during a White House meeting.
“I presented the president of the United States the medal, the Nobel Peace Prize,” Machado told reporters on Capitol Hill.
Machado, who won the prestigious award last October for her tireless fight to restore freedom in Venezuela and defeat the authoritarian regime of Nicolás Maduro, explained that she also had a message for Trump when she gave him the prize.
“I told him this: 200 years ago, Gen. [Marquis de] Lafayette gave Simon Bolivar a medal with George Washington’s face on it. Bolivar kept that medal the rest of his life,” Machado said.
“It was given by Gen. Lafayette as a sign of the brotherhood between the people of the US and the people of Venezuela in their fight against tyranny. 200 years on in history, the people of Bolivar are giving back to the heir of George Washington a medal, in this case a medal of the Nobel Peace Prize,” she continued.
Venezuela’s “Iron Lady” added that she presented Trump with the prize “in recognition of his unique place with our freedom.”
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Trump, who expressed doubt over Machado’s ability to lead Venezuela after the capture of Maduro, has backed interim president Delcy Rodríguez. He called Maduro’s former vice president a “terrific person” after speaking with Rodriguez by phone on Wednesday.
