Left: Venezuela’s President Nicolás Maduro gestures during a meeting at the Eurobuilding Hotel in Caracas on Nov. 14. Right: Father Numa Molina, whose association with President Maduro has drawn attention. (photo: Federico Parra / AFP via Getty Images and X/@numamolina)
Jonah McKeown World December 5, 2025
Tensions remain high between the United States and Venezuela amid numerous boat strikes in the Caribbean by the U.S. military that have killed more than 80 people since early September. Though the Trump administration says the strikes are intended to stop drug smuggling, U.S. Catholic leaders have sharply opposed the alleged targeting of civilians and survivors.
Nicolás Maduro, who has led Venezuela into a 12-year tailspin that has included rampant inflation, numerous human rights abuses and the departure of millions of emigres, reportedly believes he can cling to power despite the crisis.
Pope Leo, speaking during a recent press conference on the papal flight from Lebanon to Rome, said the Holy See is working with the Venezuelan bishops’ conference and the nuncio to calm tensions after Trump’s recent threats to take further military action in Venezuela. As of Dec. 3, Trump and Maduro reportedly spoke by phone about a possible meeting.
Amid the geopolitical uncertainty, an obscure but influential figure has the ear of Venezuela’s autocratic president: a Jesuit priest, whose openly socialist views have put him at odds with the nation’s Catholic hierarchy.
Jesuit Father Numa Molina, 68, became a confidant of Maduro’s after previously meeting and gaining the trust of his predecessor, President Hugo Chávez, who ruled Venezuela from 1998 until his death in 2013 and whom Father Molina has called a “prophet.”
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