The organization that oversees the Nobel Peace Prize rejected recent suggestions that Venezuelan opposition leader Mar\u00eda Corina Machado could give or share her award with President\u00a0Donald Trump.<\/b>
\nThe organization that oversees the Nobel Peace Prize rejected recent suggestions that Venezuelan opposition leader Mar\u00eda Corina Machado could give or share her award with President Donald Trump.
The Norwegian Nobel Institute shut down the idea Friday, after Machado suggested that she might transfer the prestigious award to Trump earlier this week.
\u201cOnce a Nobel Prize is announced, it cannot be revoked, shared, or transferred to others,\u201d the institute said in a statement. \u201cThe decision is final and stands for all time.\u201d
The statement comes after Machado floated the idea during an appearance Tuesday on Fox News\u2019 \u201cHannity.\u201d
\u201cDid you at any point offer to give him the Nobel Peace Prize?\u201d Sean Hannity asked. \u201cDid that actually happen?\u201d
Machado responded, \u201cWell, it hasn\u2019t happened yet.\u201d
\u201cI certainly would love to be able to personally tell him that we believe \u2014 the Venezuelan people, because this is a prize of the Venezuelan people \u2014 certainly want to give it to him and share it with him,\u201d Machado continued. \u201cWhat he has done is historic. It\u2019s a huge step towards a democratic transition.\u201d
On Jan. 3, Trump announced that the US had successfully completed an operation to capture authoritarian Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro, who is now facing drug trafficking charges in New York.
Trump was asked during an appearance Thursday on \u201cHannity\u201d whether he would accept the Nobel Prize from Machado.
\u201cI\u2019ve heard that she wants to do that,\u201d Trump responded. \u201cThat would be a great honor.\u201d
Machado secretly escaped Venezuela last month and traveled to Norway to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, which she dedicated to Trump.
\u201cLet 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,\u201d Machado said on \u201cHannity.\u201d \u201cAnd a lot of people, most people, said it was impossible to achieve what he has just done on Saturday, January 3rd.\u201d
Trump said he plans to meet with the Venezuelan opposition leader in Washington next week.
He has previously stated that Machado \u201cdoesn\u2019t have the support within or the respect within the country\u201d to lead.
Trump has supported acting President Delcy Rodr\u00edguez, a longtime Maduro loyalist, who previously served as vice president under Maduro.<\/p>\n