Why Trump Soured On Machado: It Has Nothing To Do With The Nobel Prize

The fact that the Trump administration chose to anoint Delcy Rodríguez, who served as Nicolás Maduro’s staunchly loyal (or so he thought) Vice President, as the new leader of the country has left many wondering why he passed over Maria Corina Machado.

Machado, as a longtime Venezuelan opposition and democracy activist, had made headlines last month when she traveled to Norway to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. Given that President Trump had apparently expected to receive it, recently boasting of “ending seven wars” – she tried to soften the awkwardness of the situation by the symbolic gesture of ‘dedicating’ it to Trump.

But in a fresh Fox News interview, Machado took shots Delcy Rodríguez, who was formally sworn in on Tuesday, describing that she does not represent democratic aspirations or true reform. 

“So this is very alarming. This is something that has to be followed carefully, I’m sure, by the United States government and by the Venezuelan people,” Machado said. “And certainly we believe that this transition should move forward.”

She said of the woman who has been Maduro’s number two since 2018:

“Delcy Rodriguez, as you know, is one of the main architects of torture, persecution, corruption, narco trafficking,” Machado said.

“She’s the main ally and liaison with Russia, China, Iran, certainly not an individual that could be trusted by international investors. And she’s really rejected, repudiated by the Venezuelan people.”

Machado too must be really questioning why she was clearly dropped from consideration in terms of new Venezuelan leadership.

One analyst says that despite the amusing and distracting nature of Trump’s apparent obsession with the Nobel, choosing Rodriquez really has nothing to do with this at all.

Daniel DePetris of Defense Priorities explained in the following astute X thread [emphasis ZH]:

Why Trump soured on Machado, and it has nothing to do with his obsession about the Nobel Peace Prize…

Trying to install Machado (or Gonzalez) atop the Chavismo system, which remains intact, was untenable. It was never going to work. She had zero support from the people who actually held the levers of power.

So going through with such a scheme would require a re-ordering of the Venezuelan political system and the crafting of a new one from scratch. That, in turn, would require a much deeper U.S. commitment—far deeper than Trump and most Americans are willing to tolerate.

Working within the system and giving Delcy Rodriguez a chance is frankly easier. And because Trump doesn’t really care about democracy to begin with, it was the best—or least worst—option available to him. This will make a lot of democracy proponents livid, of course.

For some reason, highly qualified people don’t understand this.

For most of the Western public, Machado was a complete unknown even up to the eve of her winning the Nobel award. Giving her the prize seemed politically manufactured in the first place as she was viewed by elites in Europe and the West as a prime ‘option’ for new Venezuelan president. 

This is a very sad sight to watch for so many reasons https://t.co/BzbWK8Toib

— MeidasTouch (@MeidasTouch) January 6, 2026

While Trump did decapitate the regime, some pundits are saying it should not be understood as full-on regime change, given the same governing system has remained in place. Trump has frequently cited the lessons of Iraq – and apparently is at least prudent enough to not attempt to place American officials directly over entire government ministries, as the US once did in the Middle East. Regardless, there is still a lot of blowback which likely awaits just around the corner.