Pope Leo XIV (L)met with Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado (R)/Image: Vatican Media.
On Monday, Pope Leo XIV met with Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner Maria Corina Machado in Vatican City, according to a Vatican spokesman.
The meeting, although listed in the Pope’s appointments for the day, was not included in an earlier press advisory.
The Vatican has not yet released details of the meeting.
Pope Leo XIV met with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado at the Vatican on Jan. 12, in an unscheduled audience later added to the official agenda. Machado, a key figure of the Venezuelan opposition and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, has denounced the country’s… pic.twitter.com/fnEMbAdWHa
— EWTN Vatican (@EWTNVatican) January 12, 2026
The meeting between the two comes as leadership in Venezuela is uncertain following US actions in the country that resulted in the apprehension of the illegitimate narcoterrorist Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.
Both have now been indicted in the Southern District of New York following their capture.
“Nicolas Maduro has been charged with Narco-Terrorism Conspiracy, Cocaine Importation Conspiracy, Possession of Machineguns and Destructive Devices, and Conspiracy to Possess Machineguns and Destructive Devices against the United States,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said.
In order for Machado to collect her prize, she managed to evade the repressive controls of Chavismo and leave the country last Tuesday, December 9, 2025
Machado, who was awarded the 2025 Nobel Peace Prize for her defense of democracy and human rights, was forced to undertake this odyssey after 12 years of being prohibited from leaving the national territory under “judicial restriction” through fabricated accusations, such as alleged “conspiracy crimes “, which prevented her from even boarding domestic flights.
The Supreme Court of Justice, firmly under Maduro’s thumb, indefinitely disqualified her from public office and forced her to take refuge in clandestinity, moving between hideouts and diplomatic embassies.
Machado has made no secret of her support for President Trump. When receiving the Prize, she dedicated it to him.
She wrote on X, “This recognition of the struggle of all Venezuelans is a boost to conclude our task: to conquer Freedom.”
“We are on the threshold of victory and today, more than ever, we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic nations of the world as our principal allies to achieve Freedom and democracy.”
“I dedicate this prize to the suffering people of Venezuela and to President Trump for his decisive support of our cause!”
This recognition of the struggle of all Venezuelans is a boost to conclude our task: to conquer Freedom.
We are on the threshold of victory and today, more than ever, we count on President Trump, the people of the United States, the peoples of Latin America, and the democratic…
— María Corina Machado (@MariaCorinaYA) October 10, 2025
Machado spoke with Sean Hannity on Fox News following Maduro’s extraction and arrest and added, “I dedicated it to Trump the second I won it! If I thought he deserved it back in October, imagine NOW after he CRUSHED Maduro!”
Watch:
JUST IN: Venezuelan Maria Corina Machado dedicates her Nobel Peace Prize to PRESIDENT TRUMP, even offering to SHARE it with him
“I dedicated it to Trump the second I won it! If I thought he deserved it back in October, imagine NOW after he CRUSHED Maduro!” pic.twitter.com/rkOW7yLeUL
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) January 6, 2026
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