Vatican City [Vatican], 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 after the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro, ahead of her Washington visit to meet US President Donald Trump, The Washington Post reported.
Machado's Vatican meeting comes amid Venezuela's political upheaval and forms part of her broader diplomatic outreach as she pushes for international backing for a democratic transition.
Pope Leo XIV, the first US Pope, has also addressed the Venezuela situation, calling for the country to remain independent following the capture of Venezuelan dictator Nicolas Maduro on the orders of President Donald 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 comes after US President Donald Trump last week, on Thursday, indicated 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 remarks followed Trump's public comments on Machado's political position in Venezuela. Addressing reporters earlier, 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 the Fox News programme Hannity that she wanted to "personally" thank Trump for the capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.
Trump also linked the 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 firms 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 an unbelievable oil that they have, and an unbelievable quality of oil and amount of oil," Trump said.
Venezuela holds the world's largest proven oil reserves but contributes less than one per cent 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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