Machado Appeals to Pope Leo XIV for Help With Venezuela’s Transition and Prisoner Release

María Corina Machado Appeals to Pope Leo XIV for Venezuela’s Political Prisoners and Democratic Transition.

Vatican City — Venezuelan opposition leader and 2025 Nobel Peace Prize laureate María Corina Machado held a private audience with Pope Leo XIV on Monday, urging him to intercede for the release of hundreds of political prisoners in Venezuela. The meeting, not previously listed among the Pope’s planned appointments, was later included in the Vatican’s daily bulletin without further details.

Machado, who resurfaced publicly in December after 11 months in hiding to accept her Nobel Prize in Norway, is currently touring Europe and the United States. After the Vatican meeting, she expressed gratitude for the Pope’s concern and highlighted the resilience of the Venezuelan people.

“I conveyed to His Holiness the strength of the Venezuelan people who remain steadfast in prayer for our freedom, and I asked him to intercede for all Venezuelans who remain kidnapped or disappeared,” Machado said.

She also met with Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, a former nuncio to Venezuela.

Context: Venezuela’s Political Turmoil

Pope Leo XIV has urged protection of human and civil rights in Venezuela amid ongoing unrest. His concern comes after US forces captured former President Nicolás Maduro and brought him to the United States to face federal drug-trafficking charges, while Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, assumed control of the country.

Machado’s opposition movement, supported intermittently by US administrations, has long sought to restore democracy in Venezuela. Most opposition leaders, including Machado, remain in exile or imprisoned.

Machado’s Nobel Prize and International Advocacy

Machado dedicated her 2025 Nobel Peace Prize to the people of Venezuela and expressed a symbolic desire to share it with Donald Trump, who has actively opposed Maduro’s regime. The Norwegian Nobel Institute clarified that once awarded, the prize cannot be transferred or shared.

Her Vatican visit reflects her ongoing effort to garner international support for Venezuela’s democratic transition and the release of political detainees, highlighting the plight of her country on a global stage.