U.S. President Donald Trump walks to the White House as he returns from Florida, in Washington, D.C., U.S., January 4, 2026. REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz
Early Saturday morning, January 3, the news broke that leftist Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro had been captured by U.S. forces. Maduro, transported to the U.S., is now being held in a New York City detention center while in Venezuela, Vice President Delcy Rodríguez is in charge — not opposition leader María Corina Machado.
Although Machado is applauding the ousting of Maduro, Trump is saying that she doesn't have enough "respect" in Venezuela to lead the troubled South American country.
The fact that Venezuela is, for now, being led by an ally of Maduro and the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is raising questions about Trump's motivations. Those questions are addressed by reporters Adam Taylor, Samantha Schmidt, Natalie Allison and Karen DeYoung in an article published by the Washington Post on January 4.
One of journalist Jonathan Chait's main takeaways from their reporting is Trump's desire to win the Nobel Peace Prize.
Chait, in a January 4 post on X, formerly Twitter, writes, "Why did Trump pick a left-wing authoritarian to rule Venezuela? Because the opposition leader won his peace prize."
According to the Post reporters, "Two people close to the White House said the president's lack of interest in boosting Machado, despite her recent efforts to flatter Trump, stemmed from her decision to accept the Nobel Peace Prize — an award the president has openly coveted. Although Machado ultimately said she was dedicating the award to Trump, her acceptance of the prize was an 'ultimate sin,' said one of the people."
One of the White House-adjacent sources told the Post, "If she had turned it down and said, 'I can't accept it because it's Donald Trump's,' she'd be the president of Venezuela today."
Read the full Washington Post article at this link (subscription required).
