The Vatican Acknowledges Meeting with Venezuelan Opposition Leader

The Vatican confirmed on Monday that Pope Leo met with Venezuelan opposition leader, María Corina Machado. This meeting came shortly after Edmundo González, the president-elect of Venezuela in exile, shared a photo of himself with Machado and the Pope on social media. González is campaigning against a fraudulent election set for 2024, where Machado was notably barred from participating.

The Vatican’s statement recognized the meeting, but details remained scarce. Machado didn’t mention the encounter on her public channels, and the Pope hasn’t provided any comments so far. Interestingly, the Vatican had not listed Machado for an audience with the Pope prior to this meeting.

Machado, possibly the last prominent opposition figure with a favorable stance in Venezuela, has faced tremendous hardships over many years. As a former congresswoman and devoted Catholic, she has endured physical attacks from socialist factions. In 2025, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her effective grassroots efforts to document local vote counts, asserting that González won the 2024 election, despite Maduro’s claims of victory.

This meeting with the Pope occurred just before Machado’s planned meeting with the US president, in which she presented her Nobel Prize. The US president praised Machado, recognizing her as a “very good person” and expressed eagerness to meet her in Washington.

Last week, the US president moved ahead with operations to apprehend Maduro and his spouse, Syria Flores. Both have been in power since the death of Hugo Chávez in 2013 and face serious charges in New York related to drug trafficking and other offenses.

In the aftermath of Maduro’s arrest, his deputy, Delcy Rodriguez, declared herself president. Recent comments from the US president indicated that she was coordinating closely with U.S. authorities.

Pope Leo has consistently called for peace in Venezuela, especially following Maduro’s arrest. On January 4, the Pope appealed for a return to constitutional governance, which was eroded during Maduro’s administration. He emphasized that the wellbeing of the Venezuelan people should take precedence over all else, advocating for justice, peace, and the protection of human rights.

This overture to Machado sharply contrasts with how his predecessor, Pope Francis, interacted with Venezuela. Pope Francis had previously welcomed Maduro to the Vatican while avoiding engagement with families of political prisoners, even amidst increased oppression against Catholics.

Back in 2017, during Holy Week, pro-government groups attacked a Catholic Mass in Caracas, targeting prominent figures, including Machado. The prior year, several political prisoners managed to reach the Vatican, yet Pope Francis chose not to meet with them.

At that time, Machado distanced herself from the socialist factions of the opposition, openly criticizing any negotiations with Maduro’s government. She stated that authoritarian regimes don’t genuinely engage in dialogue and called for a renewed commitment from the opposition coalition to reclaim democratic governance.

Pope Francis had also sent a representative to Maduro’s “inauguration” in 2019, despite the National Assembly’s formal assertion that Maduro’s government had collapsed democratically. Despite efforts to transfer power to Juan Guaidó, the situation allowed Maduro to maintain control with some international backing.