The contents of a gift bag given to Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado at the White House has been revealed.
Machado visited the White House on January 15, where she presented President Donald Trump with her own Nobel Peace Prize.
A vocal critic of former Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, Machado won the award in 2025 for her campaign to advance democracy in her country.
Following the US's capture of Maduro, which had been authorized by Trump, she gifted him the medal encased in a decorative frame with a personal message for the President.
It read: "To President Donald J. Trump. In gratitude for your extraordinary leadership in promoting peace through strength, advancing diplomacy, and defending liberty and prosperity."
The gesture was framed as a symbolic act of gratitude from the Venezuelan people for Trump’s support in the fight against Maduro’s regime.
According to CNN, Machado also hopes that by gifting the medal to Trump, she would secure US backing to lead Venezuela following Maduro's departure.
After the meeting, Machado was photographed leaving the White House carrying a Trump-branded gift bag, leaving onlookers wondering what was inside.
While the contents of Machado's bag remain a mystery, Page Six reports that similar swag bags were given to guests at Trump's second-term inauguration in January 2025, which reportedly included a medal featuring Trump and Vice President JD Vance, a large red leather journal with a drawing of the US Capitol embossed in gold, a red leather coin with the Capitol on it, as well as a glittering White House Christmas ornament.
While Machado handing over her medal to Trump sparked a mixed reaction, the actual Nobel honor remains hers regardless of who is in possession of the medal.
The Oslo-based Nobel Peace Centre later clarified that Nobel medals cannot be shared or transferred, saying in a post on X (formerly Twitter: "A medal can change owners, but the title of a Nobel Peace Prize laureate cannot."
From 2011 to 2014, Machado served as an elected member of the National Assembly of Venezuela, before becoming a central figure in the movement to free Venezuela from Maduro’s authoritarian rule.
In recognition of her tireless efforts, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2025.
Machado’s victory was notable not just because of her own contributions, but also because of the unusual background surrounding the award.
In the months leading up to the Nobel announcement, President Donald Trump had publicly stated that he felt he deserved the prestigious award for his role in global peace efforts.
Trump had even discussed the possibility of receiving the prize during his presidency, particularly citing his work in preventing global conflicts and brokering peace deals across multiple regions.
In a February 2025 meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Trump expressed his frustration over not being recognized by the Nobel Committee, stating: “They will never give me a Nobel Peace Prize. I deserve it, but they will never give it to me.”