The presentation of the Nobel Peace Prize medal to the president of the United States, Donald Trump, by the Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado has opened a series of legal questions about the ownership of the gift: whether it belongs to Trump in a personal capacity or if it should be considered property of the US Government.
On Thursday, Machado presented the medal corresponding to the award he won last year during his first meeting at the White House with Trump, as a sign of “gratitude” for the US operation that deposed Nicolás Maduro on January 3.
The gesture sparked a debate about the possible transfer of the award, an issue that the Nobel Committee settled by emphasizing that ownership of the prize is not transferable. “A medal can change owners, but the title of Nobel Peace Prize cannot,” the institution clarified.
More information: The Nobel Institute reiterates that the prize is non-transferable
However, the question remains as to whether the medal given should be considered a personal gift to the Republican president or if, on the contrary, it should be preserved by the United States National Archives.
White House sources confirmed to media such as USA Today that Trump intends to keep it, an award that he has long claimed as his own, by ensuring that it has put an end to several wars.
The US Constitution prohibits the president and other federal officials from accepting “any gift, emolument, office or title” from a foreign government or representative without the consent of Congress to avoid corruption or conflicts of interest.
In the case of gifts from individuals or private companies, as would be the case with the María Corina Machado medal, the rules are more flexible, with the only limit that they do not involve official favors, since this could involve bribery.
In fact, many of the highest-value gifts received during the presidency end up in archives, museums, or government repositories, while those of lower value or clearly personal are often considered private.
In the case of the medal, it was framed next to a message from Machado that dedicated the badge to Trump as “gratitude for his extraordinary leadership in promoting peace through strength.”
This is not the first time that the issue of gifts has generated some controversy in this Administration. Last year, the Qatari royal family presented Trump with a Boeing 747-8 valued at about $400 million.
After a controversy about the appropriateness of accepting these types of gifts, lawyers from the White House and the Department of Justice prepared an analysis that supported receiving the aircraft, which is in Texas waiting to be adapted.
Trump was indicted in 2023 for taking classified documents from his first term in the White House, including letters from North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, which he kept in his private mansion in Florida, a case that was dismissed when he returned to power.
With information from EFE
Follow information about the world in our international section
