Vatican City, January 12 — Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado held talks with Pope Leo XIV on Monday, seeking support for a democratic transition in Venezuela following the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro, ahead of her planned visit to Washington to meet US President Donald Trump, The Washington Post reported.
Machado’s Vatican meeting comes amid political upheaval in Venezuela and forms part of her broader diplomatic outreach as she seeks international backing for a democratic transition.
Pope Leo XIV, the first US-born pontiff, has also addressed the situation in Venezuela, calling for the country to remain independent following the capture of Maduro on the orders of President Trump.
In a major foreign policy speech on Friday, the Pope criticised the use of military force as a tool to achieve diplomatic objectives and called for the protection of human rights in Venezuela.
Machado’s outreach follows remarks by President Trump last week indicating that she is expected to visit Washington, DC, next week and that he anticipates meeting her during the trip.
Speaking in an interview with Fox News, Trump said, “I understand she’s coming in next week sometime, and I look forward to saying hello to her, and I’ve heard that she wants to do that.”
The comments followed Trump’s earlier public remarks on Machado’s political standing in Venezuela. Addressing reporters, the US President described her as a “very nice woman,” but said she “doesn’t have the support within or the respect within the country” required to lead the nation.
Trump said the anticipated meeting would mark his first interaction with Machado, adding that she had previously said she had not spoken to him since receiving the Nobel Peace Prize in October last year.
Machado, for her part, had earlier said on Fox News programme Hannity that she wanted to “personally” thank Trump for the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
Trump also linked recent political developments in Venezuela to reconstruction plans, arguing that the country’s democratic systems had broken down and would require major rebuilding. “We have to rebuild the country. They couldn’t have an election,” he said, adding, “They wouldn’t even know how to have an election right now.”
Turning to Venezuela’s energy sector, Trump said companies would be tasked with restoring the country’s oil infrastructure. “They’re going to rebuild the whole oil infrastructure. They’re going to spend at least USD 100 billion, and it’s unbelievable oil that they have, and an unbelievable quality of oil and amount of oil,” he said.
Venezuela holds the world’s largest proven oil reserves but currently contributes less than one percent of global production. Trump said on Tuesday that Venezuela could supply between 30 million and 50 million barrels of oil to the United States, a deal he said could be valued at up to USD 2.8 billion at current prices.
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