US President Donald Trump has finally received a Nobel Peace Prize, albeit symbolically. Trump has long coveted the Peace Prize, ever since his first tenure as President.
On Thursday, Venezuela’s opposition leader, María Corina Machado, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2025, handed her medal to Trump during a meeting at the White House.
Trump might see the prize as rightfully his, but in reality, it is only symbolic. The Norwegian Nobel Committee says the Nobel Peace Prize cannot be shared, nor transferred to others.
The #NobelPeacePrize medal.
It measures 6.6 cm in diameter, weighs 196 grams and is struck in gold. On its face, a portrait of Alfred Nobel and on its reverse, three naked men holding around each other’s shoulders as a sign of brotherhood. A design unchanged for 120 years.
Did… pic.twitter.com/Jdjgf3Ud2A
— Nobel Peace Center (@NobelPeaceOslo) January 15, 2026
“Once the announcement has been made, the decision stands for all time.”
Machado’s meeting with Trump, and her symbolic gesture, comes a few weeks after US forces seized Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas and charged him in a drug-trafficking case, even though critics say the real plan was to control Venezuela’s oil.
Trump has so far not endorsed Machado to become Venezuela’s new leader, despite her movement claiming victory in the contested 2024 elections, instead dealing with Maduro’s ally and now acting head of state, Delcy Rodríguez.
Stroking Trump’s ego might help Machado in that respect.
It comes as the US has completed its first sale of Venezuelan oil under a new energy arrangement, generating about $500 million in revenue.
But unlike typical oil sales, the money from the initial transaction is being held in bank accounts controlled by the US government, with the main account reportedly located in Qatar, a neutral site chosen to allow the funds to move freely and avoid legal seizure by creditors.
Critics warn that this arrangement raises complex questions about sovereignty and legal norms in international energy deals.
