‘Ultimate Sin’: Report Says Machado Lost Trump’s Support After Accepting Nobel Prize

Last Updated:January 05, 2026, 16:10 IST

A report says Trump viewed Machado’s Nobel Peace Prize as a personal slight, shaping Washington’s reluctance to back her after Maduro’s fall.

Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado attends a press conference at the Grand Hotel in Oslo, Norway. (IMAGE: REUTERS)

Two people close to the White House said US President Donald Trump’s lack of interest in backing Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado stemmed from her decision to accept the Nobel Peace Prize last year, a move one official described as her “ultimate sin," according to a report by The Washington Post.

Machado was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2025 for her role in leading Venezuela’s democratic opposition and mobilising resistance against the government of Nicolás Maduro. However, US officials cited in the report said Trump had long coveted the prize himself and viewed Machado’s acceptance as a personal slight.

“If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today," one person close to the White House told the newspaper.

Trump publicly dismissed Machado just days after Maduro was captured by US forces and removed from the country. Asked about Machado over the weekend, Trump said it would be “very tough" for her to lead Venezuela, claiming she lacked “support or respect within the country."

The remarks stunned Machado’s allies, according to a person familiar with her team. Machado had covertly left Venezuela last month with US assistance to attend the Nobel ceremony in Norway, the report said.

Although Machado later dedicated the prize to Trump in an attempt to smooth relations, US officials said the damage had already been done. Trump’s administration has since shown little interest in elevating her role in any post-Maduro political transition.

On Sunday, Machado and her supporters again urged Venezuelans abroad to protest. But with her location undisclosed and her stand-in candidate Edmundo González having fled to Spain after last year’s disputed election, the opposition has struggled to mobilise inside Venezuela.

One senior opposition figure told the newspaper that Trump’s stance was painful but unavoidable. “In every transition, you have to swallow some bitter pills," the person said.

The report said US officials now see Venezuela’s vast oil reserves as leverage in shaping the country’s future, even as Trump openly discusses taking control of the industry and returning assets to US companies.

News world ‘Ultimate Sin’: Report Says Machado Lost Trump’s Support After Accepting Nobel Prize

Read More