- Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado held a private audience with Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican.
- During the meeting, Ms Machado appealed to the Pontiff to intercede for the release of hundreds of political prisoners currently held in Venezuela.
- The encounter, which was not publicly listed on Pope Leo's schedule, was later confirmed by the Vatican, and Ms Machado also met with Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin.
- Pope Leo XIV has previously called for Venezuela to remain an independent country, expressing deep concern for human and civil rights in the Latin American nation.
- Ms Machado, who recently accepted her 2025 Nobel Peace Prize, dedicated it to U.S. President Donald Trump and the Venezuelan people, though the prize cannot be shared or revoked.
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