File picture of Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado
| Photo Credit: Reuters
Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado said on Monday (January 5, 2026) she hasn’t spoken to U.S. President Donald Trump since October 2025.
“Actually, I spoke with President Trump on October 10, the same day the (Noble Peace) Prize was announced, (but) not since then,” Ms. Machado said on Fox News’ “Hannity” program. She was awarded the prize for her fight against what the Norwegian Nobel Committee called a dictatorship.
Ms. Machado — widely seen now as deposed Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro’s most credible opponent — left Venezuela last month to travel to Norway to accept the award, and hasn’t returned since.
“I’m planning to go as soon as possible back home,” she told Fox News when asked about her plans to return to Venezuela. The interview was Ms. Machado’s first since the U.S. launched strikes on Venezuela on Saturday and captured its president.
Welcomes U.S. action
She welcomed the U.S. actions as “a huge step for humanity, for freedom and human dignity.” Venezuela’s vice president and oil minister Delcy Rodriguez was sworn in as interim president on Monday, but Washington’s move over the weekend has left many to wonder about the future leadership of the South American country.
Mr. Trump on Saturday dismissed the idea of working with Ms. Machado, saying “she doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country”.
Published – January 06, 2026 01:11 pm IST
