Less than a month after Venezuela's contested — and much disputed — election, a growing number of world leaders have voiced doubts on whether that country's Marxist president, Nicolas Maduro, was the winner.
Argentina's conservative president, Javier Milei, and Chile's leftist president, Gabriel Boric, are among those refusing to recognize Maduro and his administration as the legitimate government of Venezuela.
But the recognition Tuesday of Maduro by one government and its leader was highly significant to the embattled strongman: that of the Vatican and its head of state, Pope Francis, the spiritual leader of the world's estimated 1.39 billion Roman Catholics.
In formally receiving the credentials of Archbishop Alberto Ortega Martin as nuncio (ambassador) of the Vatican, Maduro can claim the recognition of his legitimacy as head of the government by the Pope and the Catholic Church he heads.
The Pope's blessing comes as demonstrators increasingly take to the streets to protest Maduro's claim of winning the July 28 election over retired diplomat Edmundo Gonzalez. The president has responded by deploying police and troops to subdue the opposition in often violent exchanges. An estimated 25 Venezuelans have been killed in the clashes.
Former candidate Gonzalez (recognized by the U.S. as the election winner) and opposition leader Maria Corina Machado have been steadfast in remaining in Venezuela despite the growing assaults on Maduro opponents. Most recently, the Maduro regime began Operation Knock-Knock, a program in which police search private homes for known opponents of the government.
The Pope's embrace of Maduro is especially surprising, given his own Latin American heritage and that his right-hand man, Secretary of State Pietro Cardinal Parolin, is a past envoy to Venezuela.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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