From Peace Prize To Power Play: How Nobel Pulled Trump Into Venezuela’s Struggle

While the Norwegian Nobel Committee has clarified that the prize cannot be officially transferred and remains recorded in Machado’s name, the gesture has fueled global debate over whether international politics is being reduced to transactional deals involving medals, oil, and power.

A major political controversy has emerged after US President Donald Trump was symbolically gifted a Nobel Peace Prize by Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado, triggering sharp questions about political bargaining, legitimacy, and the future of Venezuela’s leadership. While the Norwegian Nobel Committee has clarified that the prize cannot be officially transferred and remains recorded in Machado’s name, the gesture has fueled global debate over whether international politics is being reduced to transactional deals involving medals, oil, and power.

In today’s episode of DNA, Rahul Sinha, Managing Editor of Zee News, conducted a detailed analysis of the episode, unpacking the political chronology behind the symbolic Nobel transfer and its wider geopolitical implications. The analysis focused on Trump’s long-standing desire for the Nobel Peace Prize, his public claims of brokering multiple ceasefires, and the strategic calculations surrounding Venezuela’s internal power struggle.

According to the sequence of events outlined, Machado had faced sustained repression under Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Trump later claimed credit for action against Maduro and his family, raising expectations that Machado could emerge as Venezuela’s next leader. However, the political script shifted when Delcy Rodríguez was instead positioned as interim president, sidelining Machado from immediate power.

With limited political leverage remaining, Machado’s symbolic gifting of her 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to Trump became the focal point of speculation. Critics argue the gesture was aimed at appealing to Trump’s personal ambitions, particularly his well-documented frustration at not receiving the Nobel himself despite repeated claims of being a global peacemaker. Supporters, however, frame the act as symbolic diplomacy rather than a transactional exchange.

The Norwegian Nobel Committee intervened to clarify that while a medal can be physically given as a symbolic gesture, Nobel Peace Prize ownership cannot be transferred in official records. The committee compared the prize to a personal honor, not a shareable asset, reinforcing that Machado remains the sole official laureate.

Trump’s public stance toward Machado has also evolved. Earlier, he had stated that it would be “difficult” for her to lead Venezuela due to insufficient domestic support. After receiving the medal, however, Trump praised Machado on his Truth Social platform, calling her “a wonderful woman” and describing the exchange as an example of “mutual respect.” This shift has intensified speculation about whether political backing could follow symbolic appreciation.

Analysts note that Trump’s broader interest may extend beyond symbolism to Venezuela’s vast oil reserves, suggesting that economic and strategic considerations outweigh the value of the Nobel medal itself. Historical precedents were also cited, including symbolic medal exchanges involving George Washington and Simón Bolívar, and journalist Dmitry Muratov’s decision to auction his Nobel medal for humanitarian aid, though none involved claims of political power exchange.

For now, the situation leaves Venezuela in uncertainty. Machado has given the symbolic medal, Trump appears politically gratified, and Delcy Rodríguez remains in power. As highlighted in the DNA analysis, the episode underscores a larger concern: in an era of deal-driven geopolitics, even peace prizes risk becoming tools in a high-stakes international bargaining game, turning global diplomacy into what many now call an “international comedy of errors.”