Pope Leo XIV has warned the US against invading Venezuela to oust President Nicolas Maduro amid a major US military buildup in the Caribbean and threats of the US launching a regime change war.
Leo was asked about the US threats against Venezuela during a press conference he held on his way back from Lebanon, where he prayed for peace in the war-torn nation that faces the threat of an escalation of ongoing Israeli attacks. The US-born pontiff pointed out to reporters the mixed signals coming from the Trump administration and urged dialogue.
“On the one hand, it seems there has been a telephone conversation between the two presidents; on the other hand, there is this danger, this possibility, that there could be an action, an operation, including an invasion of Venezuelan territory,” Leo said.
“I again believe it is better to seek dialogue within this pressure, including economic pressure, but looking for another way to bring about change, if that is what the United States decides to do,” he added.
Leo also said that bishops in Venezuela, a majority Catholic nation, are “trying to find a way to calm the situation, seeking above all the good of the people, because in these situations it is the people who suffer, not the authorities.”
Leo has previously expressed concern about the US military buildup in the Caribbean, saying that it was raising tensions. Catholic bishops in the Caribbean have harshly condemned the US military campaign and the strikes on alleged drug-running boats in the region, saying it violates the “sacredness” of human life.
The Antilles Episcopal Conference, which represents Catholic dioceses in nations and territories across the Caribbean, said in a statement last month that the “presence of warships and the disruption of marine livelihoods within our Caribbean waters represent real and immediate threats to regional stability and to the welfare of our nations.”
The bishops said that while the “narcotics trade continues to devastate Caribbean societies,” the “arbitrary and unwarranted taking of life cannot be justified as a means of resolution. Such acts violate the sacredness of human life.”
“The disregard for the sovereignty of independent nations cannot be accepted as a reasonable measure in the name of border security. War or the threat of war is never the right solution,” the statement added. “The objectives of securing our borders and the elimination of the narcotics trade must be pursued with the respect for law, the dignity of human life and with a tacit understanding of our region’s deep commitment to peace.”
