Pope Leo is articulate speaking in Spanish, he must be an electrifying spirit for desperate Venezuelan's frightened about their future

Pope Leo meets Venezuelan opposition leader. Published in the French newspaper Le Monde:

This image released by Vatican Media shows Pope Leo XIV meeting with Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Corina Machado of Venezuela, right, inside his private library at the Vatican, Monday, January 12, 2026. VATICAN MEDIA / AP

The Vatican's chief diplomat, Pietro Parolin, a former papal envoy to Venezuela, spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week. The two discussed "efforts to improve the humanitarian situation, particularly in Venezuela," the US Department of State said in a statement.

Le Monde with Maria Corina Machado at the Vatican. Señora Machado, who received the Nobel Peace Prize

in December, 2025, has been sidelined by Washington DC in the wake of the US intervention in Venezuela that toppled and kidnapped President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Celia Flores.

Le Monde with AFP

Pope Leo received Venezuelan opposition leader

Maria Corina Machado at the Vatican on Monday, January 12, the Holy See said. There were no details about the audience, with the Vatican publishing Machado's name in a list of people received by the US born pope on Monday morning.

The papal audience came the same day as Italian Foreign Minister Antonio Tajani announced that two Italians, Alberto Trentini and Mario Burlo, held since November 2024, in Venezuela, had been released and were on their way home.

Machado, who received the Nobel Peace Prize in December, 2025, has been sidelined by Donald Trump in Washington DC, in the wake of the US intervention in Venezuela that toppled President Nicolas Maduro. US President Donald Trump said on Thursday he would meet Machado this week after previously saying she did not have the respect or support within Venezuela to lead.

Pope Leo, 70, called for the protection of Venezuela's sovereignty in a speech to diplomats on Friday. The Chicago-born Pope issued an appeal "to respect the will of the Venezuelan people, and to safeguard the human and civil rights of all" following the suggestion by US Donald Trump that the US could, without any authority, control the South American country for years.

The Vatican's chief diplomat, Pietro Parolin, a former papal envoy to Venezuela, spoke with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week. The two discussed "efforts to improve the humanitarian situation, particularly in Venezuela," the US Department of State said in a statement.

Le Monde with AFP