Venezuela's opposition leader María Corina Machado says she has presented her Nobel Peace Prize to US President Donald Trump.
She did not say whether Mr Trump accepted it.
Mr Trump took to his Truth Social media platform to thank Ms Machado for presenting him with the prize, saying it was a "wonderful gesture of mutual respect".
The pair met in Washington on Thursday, local time, for lunch before Ms Machado left to meet senators at the Capitol.
As she left that second meeting, she was swarmed by media and said she had presented Mr Trump with the esteemed medal in "recognition for his unique commitment with our freedom".
Ms Machado then referenced the 200-year-old gifting of a medal by the Marquis de Lafayette, a general who fought against the British in America's Revolutionary War, to South American revolutionary leader Simón Bolívar, to signify the pair's shared values.
"It was given by General Lafayette as a sign of the brotherhood between the people of the United States and the people of Venezuela in their fight for freedom against tyranny," she said.
Ms Machado was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize in October for her "tireless work promoting democratic rights for the people of Venezuela and for her struggle to achieve a just and peaceful transition from dictatorship to democracy".
She fled Venezuela late last year and has been pressing the US to help advance a democratic transition after the capture of long-time Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
Prize 'can't be transferred'
Mr Trump has not been shy about his desire for the prize.
"I can't think of anybody in history that should get the Nobel Prize more than me, and I don't want to be bragging, but nobody else settled wars," he said last week.
The Norwegian Nobel Institute has been contacted for comment. It said last week that the prize cannot be transferred, shared, or revoked and that the decision to award a Nobel Prize is final and permanent.
Earlier, as Ms Machado left the White House, she hugged and shook the hands of supporters waiting outside, telling them, "We can count on President Trump" for Venezuela's liberation.
White House press secretary Karoline Levitt said earlier Mr Trump had been looking forward to the meeting but that he stood by his "realistic" assessment that she did not yet have the support needed to lead the country.
Competition for Trump's ear
Ms Machado, who fled Venezuela in a daring seaborne escape in December, is competing for Mr Trump's ear with members of Venezuela's government and seeking to secure a role in governing the nation.
After the US seized Venezuela's leader Nicolás Maduro, various opposition figures, members of Venezuela's diaspora and politicians throughout the US and Latin America have expressed hope that Venezuela will begin the process of democratisation.
Democratic Senator Chris Murphy, one of the senators who met with Ms Machado, said she had told senators that repression in Venezuela was no different now than under Mr Maduro.
Venezuela's interim President Delcy Rodríguez is a "smooth operator" who was growing more entrenched by the day thanks to Mr Trump's support, he said.
"I hope elections happen, but I'm sceptical," Senator Murphy said.
Mr Trump has said he is focused on securing US access to the country's oil and economically rebuilding Venezuela.
He has on several occasions praised Ms Rodríguez, Mr Maduro's second-in-command, who became Venezuela's leader after he was seized, saying she had been "very good to deal with".
Separately in Venezuela, Ms Rodríguez said she would propose reforms to her country's oil industry.
Ms Machado was banned from running in Venezuela's 2024 presidential election by a top court stacked with allies of Mr Maduro.
Outside observers widely believe Edmundo González, an opposition figure backed by Ms Machado, won by a substantial margin, but Mr Maduro claimed victory and retained power.
While the government has freed dozens of political prisoners in recent days, outside groups and advocates have said the scale of the releases has been exaggerated by Caracas.
US seizes another oil tanker
Meanwhile, the US has seized another oil tanker in the Caribbean Sea with alleged ties to Venezuela.
In a post on X, US Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem wrote that the Coast Guard had boarded the ship, called the Motor Tanker Veronica.
[X: Coast Guard]She said the ship had travelled through Venezuelan waters and was operating in defiance of Mr Trump's "quarantine of sanctioned vessels in the Caribbean".
The ship is listed as flying the flag of Guyana and is considered part of the shadow fleet that transports oil cargoes in violation of US sanctions.
ABC/Reuters
