Venezuela’s opposition leader Machado says she hasn’t spoken to Trump since October

Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado says she hasn’t spoken to US 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,” Machado says on Fox News’ “Hannity” program.

She was awarded the prize for her fight against what the Norwegian Nobel Committee called a dictatorship. The Washington Post reported yesterday that Trump’s decision not to boost Machado stemmed from his unhappiness that she accepted the Nobel Peace Prize that he coveted.

Machado – widely seen now 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 tells Fox News when asked about her plans to return to Venezuela.

The interview was Machado’s first since the US launched strikes on Venezuela on Saturday and captured its president.

She welcomes the US 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.

Trump on Saturday dismissed the idea of working with Machado, saying “she doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country.”

NOBEL PEACE PRIZE RECIPIENT @MariaCorinaYA ON DEDICATING HER PRIZE TO PRESIDENT 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. And a lot… pic.twitter.com/ufiMKFXnEQ

— Sean Hannity ???????? (@seanhannity) January 6, 2026

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.