Pope Leo XIV. on Monday in the Vatican, he received the leader of the Venezuelan opposition and the laureate of the Nobel Peace Prize Maria Corina Machado, announced the Vatican. TASR informs about it according to the report of the AFP agency. The Vatican has not yet released any details about the audience. He published Machado’s name in the list of persons received by the Pope on Monday morning.
News of the Venezuelan opposition leader’s visit came after Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced that the authorities in Venezuela released from prison two citizens of Italy – Alberto Trentini and Mario Burlo, who are on their way to their homeland. They have been detained in Venezuela since November 2024.
The visit also came more than a week after US special forces captured and deported Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife. Nobel Peace Prize laureate Machadova welcomed this military intervention by the United States in Venezuela and described the operation as “a huge step for humanity, for freedom and human dignity.” According to US President Donald Trump, Machado should visit Washington this week.
On Friday, the Pope called for the protection of Venezuelan sovereignty and for “respect for the dignity of the Venezuelan people and for the protection of the human and civil rights of all.” Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolinthe former papal envoy to Venezuela, spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week. The pair discussed “efforts to improve the humanitarian situation, especially in Venezuela,” according to a statement from the US Department of Diplomacy.
