US President Donald Trump has invited Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Laureate Maria Corina Machado to the White House for a meeting on Thursday, US media reported on Monday evening.

It comes after Trump ordered a military operation in Venezuela that saw US forces take authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro back to the US on a series of charges related to drug smuggling.

What's the relationship between Trump and Machado?

Trump has previously sidelined Machado as a possible successor to the ousted Venezuelan leader, instead focusing on talks with Maduro's Vice President Delcy Rodriguez.

The US president said Machado did not command the necessary support or respect in her home country.

The Venezuelan opposition leader had been in hiding for months, making her first appearance in December when she showed up in Oslo to receive her Nobel Peace Prize. She later said she had US assistance in leaving her home country undetected.

Trump had made no secret of his wish to be given the peace prize, having consistently lauded his achievements in ending numerous wars, although most of his claims have been questioned.

Will Machado give Trump her Nobel Peace Prize?

In an attempt to smooth things over with the US president, Machado hinted that she could give Trump her Nobel Peace Prize.

Speaking to US Fox News, she said she hadn't yet given him the prize, " But I certainly would love to be able to personally tell him that we believe — the Venezuelan people, because this is a prize of the Venezuelan people — certainly want to, to give it to him and share it with him."

However, following the comments, the Nobel Institute in Oslo made clear this was not an option.

"A Nobel Prize can neither be revoked, shared, nor transferred to others. Once the announcement has been made, the decision stands for all time," the institute said in a statement.

Edited by: Elizabeth Schumacher