MARÍA CORINA MACHADO, the Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner, used a high-profile television appearance yesterday to appeal directly to US President Donald Trump, even offering him her own Peace Prize, despite him ruling her out as a potential successor to Nicolás Maduro.

In her first televised interview since the United States launched strikes in Venezuela and former president Maduro was captured, Machado praised Trump on Fox News, describing the US action as “a huge step towards a democratic transition”.

She went further, saying the Nobel Peace Prize she was awarded in October (a prize Trump has long coveted) belonged to the Venezuelan people and should be shared with him.

“Because this is the prize of the Venezuelan people, certainly we want to give it to him and share it with him,” Machado told Fox News host Sean Hannity.

It was reported by the Washington Post this week that one of the reasons for Trump’s “lack of interest” in backing Machado was the result of a grievance over her accepting the Nobel Peace Prize, an accolade he feels he deserved. A source told the newspaper that despite her dedicating the award to him, it was an “ultimate sin” to accept it at all. 

“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,” the source said.

Hannity: Did you at any point offered to give him the Nobel peace prize?

Machado: It hasn’t happened yet. We want to give it to him. Share it with him. pic.twitter.com/fIGSbnjshc

— Acyn (@Acyn) January 6, 2026

Machado added that she had not spoken to Trump since October when, she said, she dedicated the Peace Prize to him.

Despite her overtures, Trump has declined to throw his support behind Machado or fellow opposition leader Edmundo González, who ran in her place after she was barred from standing.

Instead, the US president has given conditional backing to Maduro’s vice-president and oil minister, Delcy Rodríguez, who was sworn in as interim leader on Monday.

Trump said over the weekend that Machado “doesn’t have the support within, or the respect within, the country,” adding: “She’s a very nice woman, but she doesn’t have the respect.”

Trump on María Corina Machado: "I think it'd be very tough for her to be the leader. She doesn't have the support or the respect within the country. She's a very nice woman but she doesn't have the respect." pic.twitter.com/jps4NBKLfp

— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) January 3, 2026

Machado argued that an opposition government would turn Venezuela into a key US ally and regional energy partner, protect foreign investment and encourage millions of Venezuelans who fled under Maduro to return.

“We will leave behind all the destruction this socialist, criminal regime has brought to our people and turn Venezuela into the main ally of the United States in Latin America,” she said.

How Machado or her movement could assume power remains uncertain.

Trump has not indicated whether new elections will be held, instead saying the United States is “in charge” of Venezuela’s transition.

Machado said she plans to return to Venezuela “as soon as possible”, after spending more than a year in hiding following the 2024 election and travelling secretly to Norway in December to receive her Nobel Peace Prize.