Pope Meets Venezuelan Opposition Leader at the Vatican

President Trump has now confirmed his plans to meet with Maduro foe Machado this week.

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Pope Leo XIV leaves the Vatican and walks to his residence after a two-days meeting with cardinals as part of an extraordinary Consistory in The Vatican on January 8, 2026.

Filippo MONTEFORTE/AFP.

President Trump has now confirmed his plans to meet with Maduro foe Machado this week.

Pope Leo received Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado at the Vatican on Monday, the Holy See confirmed. No further details were provided about the audience, with Machado listed among those received by the US-born pontiff. Likewise, the Vatican has not commented on requests for additional information regarding the private meeting.

Machado, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in December, welcomed the U.S. action against Maduro, praising it as a decisive moment for freedom. Machado called the operation

a huge step for humanity, for freedom and human dignity.

U.S. president Donald Trump indicated he would meet Machado this week, despite previously suggesting she lacked sufficient support within Venezuela to assume leadership.

The Vatican’s chief diplomat, Pietro Parolin, a former papal envoy to Venezuela, spoke with U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio last week. According to the State Department, the pair discussed efforts to improve the humanitarian situation, particularly in Venezuela.

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