Cardinal Diego Padrón suffers stroke in Venezuela, archdiocese says
The Archdiocese of Valencia in Venezuela said Cardinal Diego Padrón, 88, the former archbishop of Cumaná, had a stroke on Friday and is responding well to treatment
Cardinal Diego Padrón, 88, the former archbishop of Cumaná, has suffered a stroke, the Archdiocese of Valencia in Venezuela said. It happened last Friday, and the archdiocese said the cardinal is responding well to treatment and medical care.
Days before, Padrón had signed a joint statement with other senior Church figures, including Cardinal Baltazar Porras and Archbishop Ovidio Pérez Morales, calling for a "rapid and effective response" to Venezuela's social and political problems. In the document, the Church leaders asked for the "immediate release of political prisoners", along with greater freedom of expression and preparations for presidential elections in the near future.
Dialogue and political change
The appeal came during talks between the government and the opposition that began in early August. The two sides have agreed to an exchange of personnel on the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, Venezuela's highest court, and about 80 prisoners have been released since the negotiations started.
Venezuela is currently governed by Delcy Rodríguez, who has served as interim president for more than six months, after United States authorities detained Nicolás Maduro and moved him out of the country. Maduro is accused of serious human rights violations and of manipulating the 2024 presidential election.
