Although his government's violent tactics against protesters have been denounced by the Catholic Church in Venezuela, Maduro has tried to claim he had the support of Pope Francis.

In his letter, Maduro defended the government's handling of the protests, claiming that the violence was caused by an "extreme right-wing" opposition that was "increasingly smaller and, therefore, more and more insane."

"The forces of darkness have carried out all kinds of vandalism under the sign of the most abject and brutal terrorism, trying to impose a climate of widespread violence on Venezuela," he said.

Maduro's accusations contradict statements by Cardinal Jorge Urosa Savino of Caracas, who told Vatican Radio that "the repression" exercised by Maduro's government "has been increasingly cruel."

In addition to official security forces, there are pro-government, armed civilian groups, "which is absolutely criminal, so that the situation is extremely serious and that is why we are here," he said at the Vatican June 7.

However, the Venezuelan president said his government's crackdown against protesters was justified following the death of a 17-year-old boy.

Citing Pope Francis' own words in his letter, Maduro said children should not "be robbed of joy," and he was certain the pope's "active and guiding counsel would open a new stage in national dialogue."

Asking for the pope's blessing, Maduro said he would follow the example of the late Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez in dealing with the opposition.

"There are those who have diverted toward the field of destabilization, terrorism and coup. My task is to bring them toward the field of the constitution and political debate. In this, I am rigorously following the example of Commander Chavez," Maduro said.

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