Venezuela’s Maduro writes to pope for help

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro said he has written to the
pope asking him to help mediate his country’s crisis after a swathe
of nations recognised a rival opposition chief as interim
leader.

“I sent a letter to Pope Francis,” Maduro told Italy’s SkyTG24
television in an interview broadcast on Monday, with opposition
leader Juan Guaido gaining more international support.

“I told him that I serve Christ’s cause… and in this spirit I
asked for his help, in a process of facilitating and strengthening
dialogue,” said Maduro, who has rejected calls for snap
presidential elections.

“I ask the pope to put in his best effort, his will, to help on
the path of dialogue. I hope to receive a positive response,” he
said.

Maduro is supporting plans for a meeting of Latin American and
European Union states in “Contact Group” talks in Montevideo on
Thursday.

The pope is currently on a visit to the United Arab Emirates and
is due to return to Rome on Tuesday.

Under Maduro’s stewardship, oil-dependent Venezuela has plunged
into an economic crisis, suffering from hyperinflation and
shortages of food and medicine.

After several years of opposition efforts to oust Maduro, Guaido
declared himself acting president at a rally on January 23.