Venezuela

Twin earthquakes in Venezuela have left nearly 5,000 people dead, according to government officials, triggering a massive mobilization of humanitarian aid organizations.

Each year, the annual Marian procession of the "Divina Pastora" ("Divine Shepherdess") draws millions of pilgrims and devotees in Venezuela.

Venezuelan opposition leader and Nobel laureate María Corina Machado asked for Pope Leo XIV's help in securing the release of political prisoners in the country following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.

As Pope Leo responded to the recent U.S. capture of Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro by invoking the intercession of newly canonized Saint Jose Gregorio Hernandez, the moment carried special meaning for a B.C. man who is related to the Venezuelan saint.

Venezuelan Canadian Augusto Figuera and his wife, Laura Ortega, were awakened after 2 a.m. on Jan. 3 by a call from a Toronto friend. She informed the couple that a military operation was underway in their homeland and shared videos and posts from social media.

As deposed Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro made his first appearance Jan. 5 in a New York courtroom on narco-terrorism charges, uncertainty about immigration status lingered for some Venezuelan migrants in the U.S.

Pope Leo XIV expressed "deep concern" following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, by the United States in a large-scale attack.