Venezuela has an abundance of natural wealth, vast oil reserves, favorable geographic location, largely Catholic population and a high rank on the list of desired trading partners. It couldn’t be in a much better place for a successful rise in global commerce. But, rather than rising to the top, misery, chaos and poverty are striking the nation down. As populist power rises, Venezuela is succumbing to turmoil.

Now the Vatican is offering a helping hand. Is this a selfless act or well-calculated maneuver?

For years, Vatican leaders have watched Venezuela with great concern as the leadership distanced itself from its Catholic roots and European ties under socialist autocrat Hugo Chavéz. His death in 2013 brought the Vatican relief, as the rising opposition force gave promise of a foreign political change.

But such a transition didn’t come as smoothly as hoped. President Nicolás Maduro, who succeeded Chavéz, continued, in some ways, where Chavéz left off. For this, Maduro is greatly disliked by the public and faces massive political opposition. Polls show that three out of four Venezuelans want Maduro to leave office. He is accused of overriding the constitution to stay in power, suppressing the will of the people, and raising inflation to triple digits, as well as the collapse in living standards, widespread food shortages and other calamities.

Maduro’s term officially ends in 2019, but the opposition doesn’t want to wait that long. On October 28, opposition party Democratic Unity Roundtable called a strike, demanding a referendum to determine whether President Maduro should resign.

One of the opposition leaders, Henrique Capriles, has no tolerance for the current government. “The opposition has nothing to negotiate,” he said. “The government calls for talks because it is drowning. … Talks are not to save Maduro and his regime. … If I have to meet with the devil, I would do so, with witnesses, with the Vatican.”

Pope Francis has been asked to mediate. Venezuela hopes that with the pope’s help the nation will find political stability and a consequential economic rise. Upon invitation, the president visited the Vatican for a private meeting with the pope on Monday, October 24. The meeting was regarded with both hope and skepticism.

The Vatican designated Monsignor Emil Paul Tscherrig to reconcile the government and the opposition. His efforts proved promising and he announced that representatives of both parties would meet on the Venezuelan island of Margarita on October 30. Accompanied by the Vatican and the Union of South American Nations, the two parties are meant to find a common ground in their political agendas. The Chairman of Venezuela’s Roman Catholic Bishops Conference assured the opposition that talks will not replace the people’s right to revoke President Maduro.

“It’s important to have light, a lamp to guide us through this tunnel of a fight that we’ve entered,” said opposition alliance chief Jesús Torrealba.

But as the news of the meeting started to make headlines, other opposition voices denied that such an agreement could ever happen. The opposition would never get involved in any talks with the current government, they said, and the only compromise would be ousting the president. Remarkably, the opposition and the government did meet on October 30, just as announced by the Vatican. Once again the Vatican’s involvement in politics made the seemingly impossible, possible.

The question is: Where will this so-called “guiding light” from the Vatican lead Venezuela? What is its objective? History gives the answer. Europe and Latin America have long held a special friendship because they are united by two of the strongest common factors nations can share: religion and language. Naturally, the Vatican—especially the pope, a native of Latin America—supports leaders who seek to restore these ties. Capriles is such a leader and therefore favored by the Vatican. He conducted his studies at the Catholic University in Caracas and calls himself a “devout Catholic.”

Yet as Plain Truth founder Herbert W. Armstrong came to understand, Bible prophecy shows that the Vatican’s helping hand is not a selfless act! The very opposite is true. The Vatican has attempted to tie Latin America back to Europe for decades—not to strengthen it, but to enslave it. Just like any other organization, the Vatican is motivated by selfishness.

The pope’s advances once again prove that Bible prophecy is absolute, specific and up to date with world events. None but God could have inspired the Plain Truth, under the direction of Mr. Armstrong, to write in 1962 that “the United States is going to be left out in the cold as two gigantic trade blocs, Europe and Latin America, mesh together and begin calling the shots in world commerce.”

Today, we see these two gigantic trade blocs coming together. Next, we will see the U.S. “left out in the cold” and a totally new world order arise. To find out more about these amazing prophecies, read “Europe’s Latin Assault” and “Europe’s Inroads to Latin America.”