Vatican City, Feb 5, 2019 / 13:17 pm
Pope Francis said Tuesday that he had not read Nicolas Maduro's letter, but expressed an openness to mediate in Venezuela's political situation, if both sides are willing.
"I will look at that letter, and I will see what can be done," Pope Francis told reporters aboard the papal plane Feb. 5.
The status of Venezuela's governance is currently split, as the United States and more than a dozen other European and South American nations no longer recognize Maduro as Venezuela's president.
Maduro was sworn in for a second term Jan. 10, after winning a contested election in which opposition candidates were barred from running or imprisoned. Amidst the protests that followed, the head of the nation's parliament, Juan Guaidò, declared himself interim president on Jan. 23, pledging a transitional government and free elections.