Maria Corina Machado meets with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican

by · UPI

Jan. 12 (UPI) -- Pope Leo XIV met with Nobel Peace Prize winner and Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado at the Vatican on Monday ahead of her visit with President Donald Trump.

Her political party, Vente Venezuela, posted her comment on X.

"Today I had the blessing and honor of being able to share with His Holiness and express our gratitude for his attention to what is happening in our country. I also conveyed to him the strength of the Venezuelan people, who remain steadfast and in prayer for Venezuela's freedom, and I asked him to intercede for all Venezuelans who remain kidnapped and disappeared," Machado said.

Last week, Trump said that Machado would be visiting him sometime this week. No date has been confirmed.

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"Well, I understand she's coming in next week sometime, and I look forward to saying hello to her," he said.

In his Angelus message on Jan. 4, the Chicago-born pope called for full respect for the country's national sovereignty and for the human and civil rights of its people, Catholic News Agency reported.

"It is with deep concern that I am following the developments in Venezuela," he said, adding that "the good of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail over every other consideration."

Leo pushed for cooperation to "build a peaceful future of collaboration, stability, and harmony" and emphasized that this effort must be made "with special attention to the poorest, who suffer because of the difficult economic situation."

Leo worked with Venezuelan migrants while working for the Catholic Church in Peru.

Delcy Rodríguez became interim president of Venezuela last week after the capture of former President Nicolás Maduro in an operation by U.S. forces. Maduro and his wife, Cilia, were taken to the United States, where they pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking and gun charges.

Trump told reporters that it would "be very tough for [Machado] to be the leader [of Venezuela], because she doesn't have the support within or the respect within the country."

Machado told Fox News' Sean Hannity that she wanted to offer Trump her Nobel Peace Prize, an award that he believes he deserves. Trump said he would be honored to accept it.