Vatican City, Feb 11, 2019 / 12:26 pm
The Vatican Secretariat of State received Monday a delegation from Venezuela affiliated with opposition leader Juan Guaido, who has been recognized by the United States and a dozen other countries as the country's interim president.
In the meeting, the Vatican's "grave concern was underlined that a just and peaceful solution be urgently sought to overcome the crisis, respecting human rights and seeking the good of all of the inhabitants of the country and avoiding bloodshed," Holy See Press Office Interim Director Alessandro Gisotti said Feb. 11.
The Venezuelan delegation was in Rome to meet with Italy's Interior Minister Matteo Salvini in their bid for official recognition. Francisco Sucre, the head of the Venezuelan National Assembly's commission on foreign affairs and Antonio Ledezma, former mayor of Caracas and a former political prisoner, met with Salvini Monday, as well as an undisclosed member of the Vatican Secretariat of State.
The Holy See Press Office did not state who took part in the meeting, but confirmed that it took place.