US President Donald Trump will meet with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado on Thursday, January 15—a White House official said. Trump had earlier confirmed the planned meeting in an interview with Fox News host Sean Hannity, noting that he expected Machado to arrive “sometime next week” and that he intended to greet her personally.
Machado, for her part, told Hannity last week that she would like to present Trump with the Nobel Peace Prize, which she said she received earlier this year. The US president described such a prospect as “a great honor.” “I stopped eight wars,” Trump said. “I think it’s been a major embarrassment for Norway. I don’t really understand what Norway has to do with it, but that’s where the Nobel Prize committee is based, made up of many Norwegians.”
The remarks came amid continued uncertainty over Venezuela’s future leadership. Earlier this week, Trump told reporters that Machado lacked sufficient support or respect within the country to lead Venezuela. At the same time, the United States backed Delcy Rodríguez as Venezuela’s acting president after a military operation ordered by Trump in which US forces detained Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and transferred him to the United States to face drug-related charges.