The recent transfer of the Nobel Peace Medal by María Corina Machado to President Donald Trump has prompted an official response from Oslo. Amidst the global repercussions of the meeting, the Nobel Academy and the Norwegian Nobel Committee issued a clarification to emphasize that the award, in its historical and official essence, is not transferable under any circumstances, not even through high-impact political symbolic gestures. The Norway-based institution explained that both the medal and the diploma, along with the monetary prize, are permanently associated with the original laureate. Therefore, regardless of the fate of these material symbols or who physically possesses them, the official Nobel Foundation registry will always and exclusively recognize María Corina Machado as the 2025 winner. There are even controversial precedents, such as when writer Knut Hamsun handed his distinction to Nazi leader Joseph Goebbels. With this communication, the committee seeks to safeguard the institution's prestige against current geopolitical movements. This position remains firm even if the objects change hands, as the identity of the laureate is a definitive and irrevocable decision by the committee. The gesture by the Venezuelan opposition leader, made during her visit to the White House last week, was presented as a recognition of Trump for his role in regional diplomacy following the capture of Nicolás Maduro. In response, the Academy highlighted that the prize is awarded for contributions made up to the time of the announcement and that it is not the committee's function to comment on the daily political activities of the laureates or their subsequent decisions, which are the exclusive responsibility of each individual. Regarding the use of physical objects, the statutes of the Nobel Foundation are clear: there are no restrictions preventing a laureate from keeping, gifting, selling, or donating their medal and diploma. The history of the prize includes various precedents in this regard, from institutional donations by the families of Kofi Annan or Christian Lous Lange, to multi-million dollar sales for humanitarian causes, such as that of journalist Dmitry Muratov in favor of Ukrainian refugees.
