Nobel Committee rejects Machado suggestion about Trump and says Nobel Peace Prize is non transferable
The Norwegian organization that oversees the Nobel Peace Prize has stepped in to shut down growing speculation after comments from Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado sparked controversy about possibly giving her award to U.S. President Donald Trump.
The institute said the Nobel Peace Prize cannot be transferred, shared, or revoked, following remarks by Machado suggesting she might give her 2025 award to Trump. In a statement, the institute said the decision to award a Nobel Prize is final and permanent, pointing to the statutes of the Nobel Foundation, which do not allow appeals, reports Fox News. The organization also noted that committees awarding the prizes do not comment on the actions or statements of laureates after they receive their awards.
Once a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared or transferred to others,” the Norwegian Nobel Committee and the Norwegian Nobel Institute said. “The decision is final and stands for all time.
The statement came after Machado appeared on Fox News and spoke with Sean Hannity on Monday, January 5, 2026. During the interview, she said that presenting the prize to Trump would be an act of gratitude from the Venezuelan people for the removal of Nicolás Maduro, the country’s president, who was captured last week by the United States.
Machado secretly escaped Venezuela last month and traveled to Norway to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, which she dedicated to Trump.
“Let me be very clear. As soon as I learned that we had been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, I dedicated it to President Trump because I believed at that point that he deserved it,” Machado said on “Hannity.”
“And a lot of people, most people, said it was impossible to achieve what he has just done on Saturday, January 3rd,” Machado added.
Hannity pushed for clarity and asked, “Did you at any point offer to give him the Nobel Peace Prize?” He then followed up with, “Did that actually happen?”
She responded, “Well, it hasn’t happened yet.”
Trump, who has long expressed interest in winning the prize and has at times linked it to diplomatic achievements, said he would be honored to accept the prize if offered by Machado during a planned meeting in Washington next week.
Machado, a former National Assembly member, was barred from running in Venezuela’s 2024 general election by authorities aligned with Maduro. She backed a stand in candidate who was widely considered to have won the vote, although Maduro claimed victory.
The Nobel Committee’s response now makes clear that no matter the political moment or public debate, the prize belongs to the person who receives it and that decision does not change.