Opposition leader urges pope to intercede over Venezuelan political prisoners

Venezuelan opposition leader Maria Corina Machado on Monday urged Pope Leo, during an audience at the Vatican, to "intercede" on behalf of over 1,000 political prisoners in her country.

"I asked him to intercede for all Venezuelans who remain kidnapped and disappeared," Machado said after the meeting, which came just over a week after the US military ouster of long-term authoritarian leader Nicolas Maduro.

"With the accompaniment of the Church and the unprecedented pressure from the United States Government, the defeat of evil in the country is closer," she added in a statement posted to X by her team.