Nobel Foundation weighs in after Machado presents Peace Prize to Trump

Maria Corina Machado gave her Peace Prize to Trump during a meeting at the White House last week. The Nobel Foundation pushed back on the legitimacy of such a transfer on Sunday, however.

"A prize can therefore not, even symbolically, be passed on or further distributed," the statement continued.

Machado explained her decision to give Trump her award in an interview with Fox News.

"He deserves it," Machado told "FOX & Friends Weekend" co-host Rachel Campos-Duffy. "It was a very emotional moment."

"[Venezuelans] appreciate so much what he has done for, not only the freedom of the Venezuelan people, but I would say the whole hemisphere," she said.

As a longtime Maduro critic, Machado has been vocal in supporting Trump's unprecedented removal of the disgraced Venezuelan leader, prompting her to credit him with the prize for the historic capture.

Trump appeared pleased and gratified by Machado's gesture.

"It was my Great Honor to meet Maria Corina Machado, of Venezuela, today," Trump wrote in a Truth Social post. "Maria presented me with her Nobel Peace Prize for the work I have done. Such a wonderful gesture of mutual respect."

The Norwegian Nobel Institute had tried to shut down the transfer before Machado met with Trump earlier this month.

"Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others," the institute said in a statement. "The decision is final and stands for all time."