CHURCH leaders across Latin America have stepped up calls for peace and self-determination for the people of Venezuela, condemning the US military intervention in the early hours of last which led to the arrest and capture of President Nicolás Maduro.
The Episcopal Church in the US immediately called on Congress to investigate the Trump administration’s months of air strikes on boats alleged to be carrying drugs off the Venezuelan coastline which led to the night-time military raid on the capital of Venuzuela and capture of the President and his wife.
It also called for support for a “peaceful transition that respects the rule of law and the will of the Venezuelan people”.
The country is overwhelmingly Christian in its population, with Roman Catholics making up the biggest proportion. The Episcopal Diocese of Venezuela has ten parishes and 14 missions.
The incoming Episcopalian Bishop of Los Angeles, the Revd Dr Antonio Gallardo, is a Venezuelan American. He posted on Facebook of the “mixed emotions” that the news of the capture of President Maduro had stirred. The President had held on to power for 12 years, despite widespread allegations of vote-rigging, and overseeing years of economic crisis, devastating hardship, and mass migration.
Bishop Gallardo said: “I want to join the Venezuelan people who are overjoyed with the departure of Maduro, especially those who are still living there, my mother, my siblings, my relatives, my life-long friends, and my fellow Venezuelans.
“This people have suffered for more than 27 years the decisions of a government that, in supposedly pursuing freedom from the chains of capitalism, and with promises to end corruption and implementing social programs to benefit all, destroyed the country’s freedoms, the democracy, the physical infrastructure, and the once first-class education and health systems, among other long-term damages. When the Venezuelan people celebrate the extraction of Maduro, they get a renewed sense of hope, a sense that they almost lost after these many years of trying to elect other leaders in elections that [were] very likely rigged.”
He said that he was also “afraid of what may come. When the US government says, within few hours of the operations, words like ‘we are going to run the country,’ and ‘we will rebuild the oil infrastructure before a transition,’ it makes me fear that the Venezuelan people may have shifted from one form of oppression to another.”
On Monday, Mr Maduro appeared in court in Manhattan, where he pleaded not guilty to four charges of drug trafficking and terrorism.
In a statement on its website, the Episcopal Church said: “Episcopalians in Venezuela carry out vital ministries in increasingly challenging conditions, and we fear for their well-being and their church community if these military interventions, and any form of US occupation, lead to more instability and violence.
“We urge Congress to call for an investigation and accountability for this most recent unauthorized operation, as well as the related military actions carried out in recent months.”
In the hours after the raid, President Trump suggested that the US would run Venezuela, and that US oil firms would take over its oil industry. The Venezuelan Vice-President, Delcy Rodriguez, an ally of President Maduro, has been sworn in as interim President, and has offered to “collaborate” with the Trump administration.
On Sunday, she posted on social media that she hoped to build “respectful relations”.
Pope Leo, on Sunday, called for Venezuelan sovereignty to be protected: “The good of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail over every other consideration, and lead us to overcome violence and to undertake paths of justice and peace, safeguarding the country’s sovereignty, ensuring the rule of law enshrined in the Constitution, respecting the human and civil rights of each person and of all, and working to build together a serene future of collaboration, stability, and concord, with special attention to the poorest who suffer because of the difficult economic situation.”
Roman Catholic bishops in Venezuela also called for a rejection of violence, and for a decision to “be made always for the good of our people”.
The Council of Latin American and Caribbean Evangelical Methodist Churches condemned the US military intervention. Its statement said: “We condemn any military intervention that does not respect the sovereignty of peoples and that causes ideologies of death to grow, losing respect and value for human life. We affirm that violence will never lead us on the right path and much less will it be an effective way out of any situation we face.”
Many Venezuelan expats in the US greeted the news of President Maduro’s removal with “joy and hope”, but also with caution, the Catholic news agency Crux reported. It described exiles gathering on the streets of places such as Doral, in Florida — where 40 per cent of the residents are Venezuelan exiles — waving flags and singing the Venezuelan national anthem.
The executive director of the National Hispanic Baptist Network, Bruno Molina, celebrated the end of Mr Maduro’s presidency. “This is an answer to prayer for the welfare and flourishing of the people of Venezuela and the furtherance of the gospel in that country and throughout the region. We are particularly happy for our Venezuelan brothers and sisters in Christ who have endured so much hardship.”
The UN Secretary General, António Guterres, said that he was “deeply alarmed” by the events in Caracas. In a statement, he said that the raid and capture set a “dangerous precedent”, words echoed by the general secretary of the World Council of Churches, the Revd Professor Jerry Pillay, who said the US actions were a violation of international law.
The Christian charity World Vision said that there were more than seven million refugees from Venezuela across Latin America. Nearly eight million people had left the country since 2018, owing to violence, inflation, and shortages of food and medicines. Five million people inside the country needed humanitarian assistance to survive.
João Diniz, from World Vision Latin America and the Caribbean, said: “Millions of Venezuelans dream of returning home, yet they face severe challenges in accessing basic services such as health, education, nutrition, and child protection.”
This story was updated on 9 January
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