Pope Leo XIII meets with Venezuelan opposition leader María Corina Machado at the Vatican

Pope Leo XIII met this Monday (12) with the leader of the Venezuelan opposition and winner of the Nobel Peace Prize, Maria Machado, the Vatican said in a statement. No additional information, however, was immediately released about the meeting, which was on the pope’s agenda. Previously, when commenting on the American action in the country, which led to the capture of Nicolás Maduro, Leo XIII, the first American pope, called for Venezuela to remain an independent country. Trump is also expected to meet with Corina Machado this week Trump says he has canceled the second stage of attacks planned in Venezuela The President of the United States, Donald Trump, announced that he will meet with the leader of the opposition in Venezuela, María Corina Machado, in Washington, next week. In an interview with American broadcaster Fox News, the Republican, who allied himself with Nicolás Maduro’s vice president, Delcy Rodríguez, after capturing the Venezuelan president, stated: “I understand that she will come at some point next week. I look forward to greeting her.” Shortly after confirming Maduro’s capture, on Saturday (3), Trump ruled out supporting María Corina in a possible quest to take over the Venezuelan government. He declared that she “is a very nice woman” but “does not have the support or respect of the country.” Donald Trump and María Corina Machado REUTERS/Evelyn Hockstein / Leonardo Fernandez Viloria In the interview, given this Thursday (8), Trump also showed that he remains frustrated with the decision that gave the Nobel Peace Prize to the Venezuelan opponent last year, after he “campaigned” to receive it for months. Days earlier, when speaking to the same broadcaster, María Corina stated that she would like to award the Nobel Prize to Trump for his commitment to returning democracy to Venezuela. Asked about the statement, the American president said: “I heard she wanted to do this. It would be a great honor,” said the Republican president. Trump also once again criticized the committee responsible for choosing the winners and Norway, despite the country guaranteeing that it has no influence on the result. “This is the position of the committee (which awards the Nobel Peace Prize). (…) It is very shameful for Norway. They had something to do with it or not. I think so. They say no. But when eight wars were ended, it should have received one for each one”, he lamented. When contacted by the AFP news agency to comment on Trump and Machado’s speech, the Nobel Institute declared it impossible to transfer the prize. “A Nobel Prize cannot be revoked or transferred to another person. Once the winner(s) are announced, the decision remains forever,” declared the institute’s spokesman, Erik Aasheim.

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