Pope Leo's Secret Meeting with Venezuelan Opposition Leader

Pope Leo met with Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado, a Nobel laureate. The Vatican provided no details of the meeting listed in the Pope's appointments. Leo, the first U.S. pope, advocates for Venezuela's sovereignty and criticizes the use of military force for diplomacy.

Pope Leo, the first pope from the United States, held a discreet meeting with Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel peace laureate Maria Corina Machado on Monday. Despite the absence of advance notice in his schedule sent to the press, the Vatican confirmed the meeting without offering further details.

The tete-a-tete comes amid escalating tensions in Venezuela, following the capture of President Nicolas Maduro by U.S. forces acting under the orders of President Donald Trump. In response, Pope Leo has been vocal, urging for Venezuela's independence and condemning military intervention as a tool of diplomacy.

Machado, a former member of the National Assembly, has been banned from running in Venezuela's 2024 elections by the Maduro-aligned administration. Despite backing a stand-in candidate believed to have won, official results claim a Maduro victory, spurring allegations of irregularities from independent observers.

(With inputs from agencies.)