Washington: President Donald Trump announced Thursday that Venezuelan opposition figure María Corina Machado is scheduled to visit Washington next week, signalling an upcoming meeting with the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize recipient.

"I understand she's coming in next week sometime, and I look forward to saying hello to her," Trump stated during a Fox News interview with Sean Hannity.

The high-level talks would be the first between the U.S. president and Machado. The meeting follows the Jan. 3 U.S. military raid in Caracas, labelled "Operation Absolute Resolve", in which special forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. The couple was subsequently transported to New York to face federal charges related to narco-terrorism and weapons trafficking.

The upcoming diplomatic engagement follows earlier comments from Trump suggesting Machado lacked the "respect" or internal support to lead the South American nation. He has since indicated that the United States might maintain effective control over Venezuela for an extended period to ensure stability.

Addressing the current state of Venezuela, which is being led by interim President Delcy Rodríguez, Trump told Fox News that the country is not yet prepared for new elections.

"We have to rebuild the country. They couldn't have an election," the president remarked. "They wouldn't even know how to have an election right now."

Machado, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in October 2025 for her defence of democracy, has publicly offered to "share" the award with Trump, who has frequently expressed his own desire for the honour. On Thursday, the president criticised the Norwegian Nobel Committee, calling it a "major embarrassment" that he had not been selected as a winner.

Trump suggested that Machado might personally hand over her prize during their sit-down. "I understand she wants to do that. That would be a great honour," he said.

With inputs from AFP