Trump to meet Venezuela Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado
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President Donald Trump will meet with Venezuela’s opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado at the White House on Thursday.
Trump announced on January 3 that the United States had captured dictator Nicolás Maduro and that the United States would govern Venezuela until safe passage was achieved. But instead of supporting Machado, Trump cast doubt on his abilities to lead the country.
“I think it’s going to be very difficult for him to be a leader,” Trump told reporters on January 3. “She has neither support nor respect in the country. She is a very good woman, but she has no respect.”
Opposition leader Maria Corina Machado gestures during an anti-government protest in Caracas, Venezuela, on January 9, 2025. (Jesus Vargas/Getty Images)
Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that the administration chose not to support Machado because it did not want to make similar mistakes that the United States had previously made in the Middle East and Latin America, but that he had “tremendous admiration” for Machado.
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“But there’s a mission that we’re on right now. … A lot of people analyze everything that’s going on in foreign policy through the lens of Iraq, Libya or Afghanistan,” Rubio said in a Jan. 4 interview with CBS. “This is not the Middle East. This is the Western Hemisphere and our mission here is very different.”
A secret CIA assessment requested by top policymakers and presented to Trump evaluated who would be best suited to oversee the interim government in Venezuela following the ouster of Maduro, a source familiar with the intelligence told Fox News Digital. Ultimately, he decided that Delcy Rodríguez, Marduro’s vice president and Maduro’s vice president, would be the person best positioned to lead the country.
Although the Washington Post reported that Trump was unhappy with Machado winning the Nobel Peace Prize, which he had hoped to receive in 2025 and which Machado had dedicated to him, the White House claimed that Trump’s choices were based on “realistic decisions.”
As a result, Trump threw his support behind Rodríguez, who is now serving as interim president. On Wednesday, Trump shared that he had a phone call with Rodríguez and later described him as an “amazing” person.
Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodriguez addresses the media in Caracas, Venezuela, on March 10, 2025. (Leonardo Fernandez Viloria/Reuters)
“We are making tremendous progress helping Venezuela stabilize and recover,” Trump said on social media Wednesday.
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“This partnership between the United States and Venezuela will be a great partnership FOR EVERYONE,” Trump said. “Venezuela will soon be great and prosperous again, perhaps more than ever!”
U.S. President Donald Trump watches a meeting with executives of U.S. oil companies in the East Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 9, 2026. (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
Specifically, Trump said he and Rodríguez discussed oil, minerals and national security. On January 7, Trump announced that Venezuela would provide 50 million barrels of oil to the United States for sale “immediately.”
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Rodríguez expressed similar sentiments after the call, saying that the duo’s “kind” call “addressed a bilateral work agenda for the benefit of our peoples, as well as issues pending between our governments.”
Machado, meanwhile, praised Trump for his role in toppling Maduro, telling CBS News that the president and the United States “did so much more than anyone thought possible.”
The White House did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment on what Trump and Machado planned to discuss.
Fox News’ Morgan Phillips contributed to this report.
