Porras incident puts Vatican’s balancing act in Venezuela to the test

Porras incident puts Vatican’s balancing act in Venezuela to the test

A few days after Pope Leo XIV warned against potential American military action in Venezuela, the Venezuelan regime barred a local cardinal with a Vatican passport from leaving the country, raising questions about whether the Vatican will respond more forcefully to the Maduro regime.Cardinal Porras’ detention has exposed a long-running tension in Vatican diplomacy: the attempt to advocate for peace in Venezuela without seeming blind to the human…

Venezuelan Authorities Block Cardinal Porras From Leaving the Country

On December 10, 2025, Venezuelan immigration officials at Simón Bolívar International Airport in Maiquetía confiscated and invalidated the passport of Cardinal Baltazar Enrique Porras Cardozo, Archbishop Emeritus of Caracas, and barred him from boarding an international flight he was to take en route to Bogotá and then Madrid for Church duties. Despite presenting his Vatican City State passport, Cardinal Porras was prevented from leaving Venezue…