Pope Leo XIV met today with Venezuelan opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado, SIR (Religious Information Service) reported.
The information was confirmed by the Vatican. There is no further information yet about the meeting, which is part of the pope's agenda for today, the Vatican said in a statement.
Pope Leo XIV, who is the first pope born in the United States, called for the guarantee of Venezuela's independence after the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by US special forces on the orders of US President Donald Trump, Reuters reported.
In 2024, Machado won the opposition's presidential primary, but the regime did not allow her to participate in the elections, after which she was forced to hide from the authorities. In 2024, she received (together with opposition presidential candidate Edmundo Gonzalez) the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought, and in 2025, the Nobel Peace Prize.