Venezuelan opposition leader meets with Pope Leo ahead of Trump trip© Andrea Hernández Briceño/for The Washington Post
VATICAN CITY — On a mission to lobby for a democratic transition in Venezuela following the capture of President Nicolás Maduro, opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado met Monday with Pope Leo XIV ahead of her trip to Washington to see President Donald Trump.
Machado’s previously unannounced meeting with the pontiff, confirmed by the Vatican, came as the Holy See has emerged as a significant interlocutor on the future of Venezuela, and as Machado is pushing for a shift away from the authoritarian left-wing power structure that remains in place despite the Jan. 3 U.S. mission that seized the Venezuelan leader. In a photo published by the Vatican following the meeting, Machado, clad in a black dress and wearing a white rosary, shook hands as she and Leo smiled.
On Friday, The Washington Post reported that Cardinal Pietro Parolin, the Vatican secretary of state and the No. 2 at the Vatican, had sought to caution American officials in December against rash action in Venezuela and to nudge Maduro toward a Russian offer of asylum.
Machado and the Venezuela opposition have hailed Maduro’s capture and praised Trump for ordering the mission. But they have been privately alarmed by the White House decision to, at least for now, back Maduro’s No. 2, Delcy Rodríguez, as interim leader. The opposition is now locked in a tug-of-war for international influence with the still-ruling leftists in power, arguing that a democratic transition is the only answer to Venezuela’s future.
Pope Leo XIV meets with Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Machado at the Vatican, on Monday.© Simone Risoluti/via REUTERS
Machado was expected to discuss with the pope and Vatican officials her view that a democratic transition is necessary. She has argued that such a move would have humanitarian benefits, including easing a migrant crisis that has seen millions of Venezuelans pour out of their broken nation and would encouraging many to return. The Chicago-born pope worked with Venezuelan migrants while serving the Catholic Church in Peru, where he became a naturalized citizen.
The Associated PressPope Leo XIV meets Venezuelan opposition leader Machado in a surprise audience
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The decision by Machado, a Catholic who is often presented by supporters with rosaries as tokens of support, to visit the Vatican underscores the extent to which the Holy See is viewed as an arbiter on the future of the country. It also suggests how Machado is seeking to make her case against the notion that Maduro’s inner circle can be allowed to continue to rule the country.
In statements after Maduro’s capture, Trump dismissed Machado as lacking “respect” and “support” in Venezuela.
The Post has reported that Trump was displeased by Machado’s decision to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, an award the president coveted. Machado told Fox News last week that she looked forward to thanking Trump personally for Maduro’s capture and that the Venezuelan people “certainly want to give it to him and share it with him.” The Nobel Committee subsequently has said the prize is non-transferrable. Trump said last week that he would meet Machado this week, calling it a “a great honor” should she opt to give him the prize.
Trump is not the only one who has expressed reservations about Machado.
Parolin, in an urgent Christmas Eve meeting with Brian Burch, the U.S. ambassador to the Holy See, expressed skepticism about Machado’s ability to lead, specifically fearing that her “hard-line approach precluded broader reconciliation” in Venezuela, according to U.S. documents obtained by The Post. He was concerned that she would “pursue a radical solution” once in power and would be unwilling to allow members and collaborators with the regime to be reincorporated into a democratic Venezuela.
In a statement to The Post, the Vatican acknowledged the meeting but questioned the accuracy of its contents.
Machado, a former National Assembly member, won the opposition primary in Venezuela two years ago but was barred from running in the general election by Maduro. Maduro claimed victory over Edmundo González Urrutia, the candidate Machado backed, but ballot audits by The Post and independent monitors show the reported election result was invalid.
The Vatican a decade ago sought and failed to work out a deal between Maduro and the fractured opposition. More recently, the Vatican sought dialogue with the Venezuelan government through its senior clerics in the country, and Leo had cautioned the Americans against the use of force.
On Thursday, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni announced the release of two of its citizens detained in Venezuela as part of a broader prisoner release announced by the interim government there last week. The Italian government dispatched a plane from Rome to fly home Alberto Trentini, an aide worker from Venice, and Mario Burlo, a Turin businessman.
The releases of Trentini and Burlo were part of what the Venezuelan officials have called a gesture of good faith, and Meloni personally thanked Rodríguez for the release. Human rights groups and others, however, have raised doubts over the scope of the releases.
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