Pope Leo XIV held a private audience on Monday at the Vatican with María Corina Machado, a prominent Venezuelan opposition figure and Nobel Peace Prize laureate.

This meeting wasn’t initially on the Pope’s public schedule but was later included in the Vatican’s daily bulletin, which provided no further details.

Machado, having reappeared in December after spending 11 months in hiding, is currently on a tour across Europe and the United States. She accepted her Nobel Peace Prize in Norway during this tour.

As the first pontiff from the Americas, Pope Leo has advocated for Venezuela’s sovereignty following the U.S. military’s capture of former President Nicolás Maduro in Caracas, who was then transported to New York to face drug-trafficking charges.

Pope Leo expressed his “deep concern” over the situation in Venezuela and emphasized the importance of safeguarding human and civil rights in the nation.

The U.S.-backed Venezuelan opposition, supported by both Republican and Democratic administrations, has long aimed to oust Maduro and restore democracy in the resource-rich country. However, President Donald Trump’s decision to allow Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, to take charge dealt a significant setback to their efforts.

READ ALSO | Nobel Institute says Venezuelan leader Machado can’t give her Peace Prize to Trump

Meanwhile, most opposition leaders, including Machado, are in exile or prison.

After winning the 2025 Nobel Prize for Peace, Machado said she’d like to give it to or share with Trump.

Machado dedicated the prize to Trump, along with the people of Venezuela, shortly after it was announced. Trump has coveted and openly campaigned for winning the Nobel Prize himself since his return to office in January 2025.

The organization that oversees the Nobel Peace Prize – the Norwegian Nobel Institute – said, however, that once it’s announced, the prize can’t be revoked, transferred or shared with others.

“The decision is final and stands for all time,” it said in a short statement last week.