Maria Corina Machado, the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate, attends a press conference at the Norwegian Parliament in Oslo on the 11th of last month (local time). AFP-Yonhap

U.S. President Donald Trump is scheduled to meet Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, the Nobel Peace Prize winner from the previous year, at the White House on the 15th (local time), AFP and CNN reported on the 12th, citing White House officials.

Machado, who has led the pro-democracy movement against the Nicolas Maduro regime, declared after the United States apprehended Venezuelan President Maduro on the 3rd that she would seek to become the next leader. Earlier, in an interview with U.S. broadcaster CBS on the 6th (local time), when asked, ‘Do you think you should be Venezuela’s next leader?’, she answered, “Of course.” She cited as grounds her claim that opposition candidate Edmundo Gonzalez effectively won by a landslide in the 2024 presidential election. At the time, after the government and courts stripped Machado of her eligibility to run, the opposition put forward Gonzalez, a former diplomat, as its candidate, but amid allegations of electoral fraud he ultimately lost to Maduro.

However, President Trump has signaled reluctance, asserting that the Venezuelan people do not support her. In a press conference held immediately after the capture of Maduro, President Trump played down Machado as not a suitable next leader, saying she does not enjoy sufficient support and respect inside Venezuela.

The Trump administration says it will hold elections in Venezuela at some point to choose a new government, but for now it is dealing with the existing Venezuelan government led by interim president Delcy Rodriguez, a Maduro ally, rather than opposition leaders like Machado.

Machado has been trying to win the favor of President Trump, even stating that she would share her Nobel Peace Prize, awarded for her contributions to the democracy movement, with him. During this White House visit, she is expected to seek to exert influence over the plans of President Trump for Venezuela’s transitional governance while appealing for support regarding the formation of the next government.