Free Republic

Pope Leo’s message of compassion for the poor clashes with Javier Milei’s radical economic overhaul, symbolized by his trademark chain saw BUENOS AIRES—Pope Leo XIV is a soft-spoken missionary who rode horseback to minister to the poor in remote corners. President Javier Milei is a chain saw-brandishing populist who slashes government spending, champions unfettered capitalism and calls social welfare “an aberration” akin to robbery.The two men came face-to-face Sunday as the pontiff, born in Chicago but with 20 years of experience ministering in Peru, arrived for a four-day visit in a country where the Catholic Church and the libertarian president...

When Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez gave a speech condemning the U.S. capture of Nicolás Maduro, she was accompanied by two men who can make or break the regime’s future. Interior Minister Diosdado Cabello and Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino command Venezuela’s police and military, the forces that kept Maduro in power for more than a decade with deadly crackdowns on dissent. Trump said Rodríguez is the de facto leader of Venezuela. She is someone who despite her anti-U.S. rhetoric has privately assured Washington that she will do its bidding with Maduro facing prison, Trump said on Saturday. But Cabello and...