Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel laureate María Corina Machado has asked for Pope Leo XIV’s help in securing the release of political prisoners in the country following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro. Source: OSV News.
The Vatican announced the meeting on Monday, which took place in the library of the Vatican Apostolic Palace, but gave no details.
However, in a statement published on X by the Venezuelan political opposition coalition, Comando con Venezuela, Ms Machado said she sought the Pope’s help in seeking the release of more than 1000 political prisoners “and for an immediate transition to democracy”.
“Today, I had the blessing and honour of being able to share with His Holiness and express our gratitude for his monitoring of events in our country,” Ms Machado said.
“I also conveyed to him the strength of the Venezuelan people, who remain firm and in prayer for Venezuela’s freedom, and I asked him to intercede for all Venezuelans who remain kidnapped and missing.”
According to the statement, the opposition leader reiterated to the Pope that the will of the Venezuelan people was seen in their electing Edmundo González, whose victory in the 2024 election was overturned by the Venezuelan election authority, which was loyal to Mr Maduro.
“Machado highlighted the spiritual struggle Venezuelans have faced for years and said that finally, with the accompaniment of the Church and unprecedented pressure from the United States Government, the ‘defeat of evil’ in the country is drawing near,” the statement read.
Comando con Venezuela said that Ms Machado also met Cardinal Pietro Parolin, Vatican Secretary of State, after her meeting with the Pope.
The Pope’s meeting with the opposition leader came just over a week after Mr Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, were captured on January 3 in a US military operation ordered by President Donald Trump.
Mr Maduro and his wife were transported to New York, where they are facing narco-terrorism conspiracy charges.
After Mr Maduro’s capture, Pope Leo expressed concerns over the United States’ increasing military presence in the Caribbean, and called for “the common good of the peoples” to be placed above “partisan interests.”
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Venezuelan Nobel laureate Machado asks Pope for help in freeing political prisoners (By Junno Arocho Esteves, OSV News)
