Trump to receive Venezuelan opposition figure Machado on Thursday

Venezuelan opposition figure Maria Corina Machado will meet with President Donald Trump on Thursday, a White House official confirmed Monday.

The meeting will follow a US military operation ordered by Trump that led to the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores on Jan. 3.

Maduro and Flores were subsequently flown out of Venezuela and then on to the US, where they are standing trial on guns and weapons charges.

Trump has so far refused to endorse Machado to lead Venezuela, saying she lacks the support and respect of the Venezuelan people.

"I think it would be very tough for her to be the leader," Trump said in the immediate aftermath of Maduro's capture. "She doesn't have the support within, or the respect within, the country. She's a very nice woman, but she doesn't have the respect."

Machado said last week she would like to share with or give her Nobel Peace Prize to Trump, but the Norwegian Nobel Institute says the award cannot be transferred.