US President Donald Trump will meet Venezuelan opposition figure Maria Corina Machado, who has offered him her Nobel Peace Prize.
WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump will host Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado at the White House on Thursday.
A senior administration official confirmed the meeting to AFP.
Machado, a Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has been largely sidelined by Washington since US forces seized former president Nicolas Maduro on January 3.
The Trump administration stated it would be “running” Venezuela following Maduro’s ouster.
Trump previously said Machado lacked the “respect” necessary to run the country.
This contrasted with earlier US support for her and her proxy candidate in Venezuela’s last election.
The administration has since worked with Maduro’s former deputy, Delcy Rodriguez, now Venezuela’s interim president.
Machado has recently praised Trump and offered to give him her Nobel Peace Prize.
Trump said it would be “a great honor” to accept the gift, though the Nobel Institute states the prize cannot be transferred.
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt defended dealing with Rodriguez over the opposition.
“President Trump and his national security team made a realistic assessment of the reality on the ground in Venezuela, and that decision has turned out to be a good one,” she told Fox News.
Leavitt cited “complete cooperation” from Venezuelan authorities, including on US seizures of oil.
Trump has repeatedly said the US will dictate how Venezuela is run post-Maduro.
Interim President Rodriguez has denied this characterization.
