Pope Leo XIV met with Venezuela's opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado in a private audience at the Vatican on Monday, during which she asked the pontiff to intercede for the release of hundreds of political prisoners held in the Latin American country. The Vatican confirmed the meeting, which hadn't been previously included in the list of the pope's planned appointments, in its daily press bulletin on Monday, but did not offer comment or further details about the encounter. In a brief video clip released by the Vatican, the two were seen shaking hands and smiling as they sat across from each other at the pope's desk in his official office in the Vatican's Apostolic Palace. Machado is touring Europe and the United States after she reemerged in December after 11 months in hiding to accept her Nobel Prize in Norway. "Today I had the blessing and honor of being able to share with His Holiness and express our gratitude for his continued support of what is happening in our country," Machado said in a statement following the meeting. "I also conveyed to him the strength of the Venezuelan people who remain steadfast and in prayer for the freedom of Venezuela and I asked him to intercede for all Venezuelans who remain kidnapped and disappeared." Venezuela released several imprisoned high-profile opposition figures last Thursday in what Caracas described as a gesture to "seek peace" less than a week after US forces captured President Nicolás Maduro in a military operation. And again on Monday, dozens more political prisoners were released as rights groups questioned the numbers and family members clamoured for quicker releases. Machado also held talks with Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, who was an ecclesiastical diplomat in Venezuela from 2009 to 2013. Pope Leo XIV has called for Venezuela to remain an independent country after Maduro was seized in his compound in Caracas and taken to New York to face federal charges of drug-trafficking. The pontiff had said he was following the developments in Venezuela with "deep concern," and urged the protection of human and civil rights in the country. Venezuela's opposition, backed by consecutive Republican and Democratic administrations in the US, had vowed for years to immediately replace Maduro with one of their own and restore democracy to the oil-rich country. But US President Donald Trump delivered them a heavy blow by allowing Maduro's vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, to assume control. — Agencies
