Pope meets Venezuelan opposition leader Machado

The Vatican said Pope Leo XIV met with Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel peace prize winner Maria Corina Machado but did not provide further details.

In the daily Vatican statement, the meeting, which was among the Pope’s appointments for Monday, was not included in the previous recommendations made to the press regarding Leo’s planned program for that day.

Leo, the first pope of the USA, called for Venezuela to remain an independent country after Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro was captured by US forces on the orders of US President Donald Trump.

In a major foreign policy speech on Friday, the Pope condemned the use of military force as a means of achieving diplomatic goals and called for the protection of human rights in Venezuela.

Machado, a former National Assembly member, has been barred from running in Venezuela’s 2024 general election by authorities loyal to Maduro.

Although Maduro declared victory, he supported a surrogate candidate who was widely perceived to have won the vote.

Audits of voting by independent observers revealed irregularities in the official results.

Machado is touring Europe.

He resurfaced in December after hiding for 11 months to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in Norway.

Machado, seen by his supporters as the leading hope for political change in Venezuela, praised Trump for his military intervention.

Following Maduro’s arrest, Trump expressed doubts about Machado’s suitability as his successor, saying Machado did not have the necessary “support” or “respect” within Venezuela to lead him.

However, he recently said that a meeting with him could be held.

with DPA