NYT, WSJ Pour Cold Water on Report Venezuela Opposition Leader Was Snubbed for Accepting Nobel Peace Prize

(Alex Brandon/Ariana Cubillos/AP photos)

The New York Times and the Wall Street Journal are throwing cold water on a report that President Donald Trump sidelined Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado for accepting his coveted award.

The Washington Post reported on Monday that after Nicolás Maduro was dragged out of Venezuela by U.S. forces, Trump refused to support Machado as interim president because she committed the “ultimate sin” of accepting the Nobel Peace Prize in October.

“If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” one White House source told the paper.

But the Times and WSJ came out with their own reports on Tuesday — outlining how the Trump administration spent weeks analyzing a CIA intelligence report that suggested Machado may not be up to the task and chose Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez instead.

The Times, citing five individuals with knowledge of the decision-making, reported that intelligence suggested the opposition party led by Machado would have issues leading the government.

The Grey Lady also suggested a “souring” relationship between Trump and Machado played a role in the decision. It did not, however, attribute the souring relationship to the Nobel Prize flap.

The WSJ additionally reported that the CIA evaluation found Rodríguez, Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello, and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino as “possible interim rulers who could keep order.”