Trump Sidelined Venezuela Opposition Leader Machado for ‘Ultimate Sin’ of Accepting Nobel Peace Prize: Report

(Photo by: Jesus Vargas/picture-alliance/dpa/AP Images)

President Donald Trump sidelined Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado as an interim replacement to Nicolás Maduro because she committed the “ultimate sin” of accepting the Nobel Peace Prize instead of demanding it be given to him, according to the claims of White House insiders.

The allegations follow Trump’s public dismissal of Machado over the weekend, following the capture of Maduro and his wife in a surprise Delta Force operation early Saturday.

In a press conference that followed the mission, Trump said, ‘It’d be very tough for her to be the leader,” claiming she “doesn’t have the support or the respect within the country.”

The comments stunned members of Venezuela’s opposition, who had expected Washington to rally behind Machado, according to the Washington Post.

Citing two people close to the White House, the paper reported Monday that Machado’s efforts to praise Trump after winning the Nobel Prize last year, an award long coveted by the president, failed to undo what one source described as the “ultimate sin.”

“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,” the source said.

When given the award by the Norwegian Nobel Committee in October, Machado dedicated the prize to Trump, which she’d received for “her tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy.” At the time, there was a push within MAGA to see the president given the prize for work done during his second term, although nominations closed before he had regained the White House.

Venezuela’s armed forces have since recognized Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, as acting president, opening the door to what U.S. officials describe as a “soft transition.”

Rodríguez struck a conciliatory tone in remarks aimed at Trump, saying in a statement posted online: “President Donald Trump: Our peoples and our region deserve peace and dialogue, not war,” and expressing hope for a future “cooperation agenda.”

Washington’s posture remains overt in the region with nearly 15,000 U.S. personnel, warships, fighter jets and surveillance aircraft remaining in positioned across the Caribbean, “standing by” for further action.

Trump has warned that Rodríguez could face a “bigger” price than Maduro if she fails to comply with American demands.