Oslo: The organisers of the Nobel Peace Prize have clarified that the award cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred, responding to remarks by Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado that she wished to give her prize to US President Donald Trump.
Machado, who was named the Nobel Peace Prize laureate in October, had described the award as a recognition of Trump’s role in supporting Venezuela’s opposition. Her comments followed recent US military action in Venezuela that resulted in the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, an operation she praised as a turning point for the country.
Trump, who has long expressed a desire to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, said he would consider it a great honour if Machado chose to offer him the award. He is expected to meet her in Washington later this week.
However, the Norwegian Nobel Committee and the Nobel Institute said the matter was not open to interpretation. In a joint statement, they stressed that once a Nobel Prize is announced, the decision is final and permanent. They noted that neither Alfred Nobel’s will nor the Nobel Foundation’s statutes allow for a prize to be withdrawn, shared, or reassigned under any circumstances.
The committee added that it does not comment on the actions or statements of laureates after the prize has been awarded, and that no Nobel Prize has ever been reconsidered or revoked.
Machado, who secretly left Venezuela in December to travel to Oslo, has openly supported Trump’s calls for military intervention to remove Maduro. Despite this, Washington has so far stopped short of endorsing her as Venezuela’s next leader, instead maintaining diplomatic backing for Maduro’s deputy, Delcy Rodríguez.
The Nobel Committee’s statement effectively closes the door on any attempt to alter the status of the award, reinforcing the long-standing independence and finality of the Nobel Peace Prize process.
