Pope Leo Presses Trump to End Military Escalation Against Venezuela
Stephen
Prager for Common Dreams
Amid escalating threats from the White House in
recent days, Pope Leo XIV pleaded for President Donald Trump to
pursue diplomacy with Venezuela rather
than another regime change war.
But I'm sure he's paying close attention to what
the Pope is saying
“It is better to search for ways of dialogue, or perhaps
pressure, including economic pressure,” said the first American pope as he returned to Rome
from Lebanon.
Since September, the Trump
administration has launched airstrikes against at least 22 boats
mostly in the Southern Caribbean that have extrajudicially killed at least 83 people. While the
administration has claimed these people are “narcoterrorists” from Venezuela,
it has provided no
evidence to support this.
Trump said he had ordered the closing of
Venezuela’s airspace on Saturday, which has left many observers holding their
breath in expectation of military action against the South American nation.
As Reuters reported Monday, Trump also offered safe passage to Venezuelan President Nicolás
Maduro last month if he left the country, suggesting that regime change is the
administration’s ultimate goal.
“On one hand, it seems there was a call between the two presidents,” said the pope, referring to that ultimatum from Trump last month. “On the other hand, there is the danger, there is the possibility there will be some activity, some [military] operation.”
“The voices that come from the United States, they
change with a certain frequency,” Leo added.
The pope has been a frequent critic of the Trump
administration’s policies since he was elected earlier this year, with
harsh rebukes issued towards the White House’s attacks on
immigrants.
While the pope did not denounce the idea of US-imposed
regime change in Venezuela entirely, he said it should search for other means
“if that is what they want to do in the United States.”
The US has notably already applied a great deal of “economic
pressure” to Venezuela, via a regime of crippling sanctions that are
considered one of the major causes of the nation’s economic instability in
recent years.
On Tuesday, Abigail Hall, a senior fellow at the Independent
Institute, warned that “a US invasion, however framed, would
impose steep costs on both nations.”
“For the United States, an attempt at regime change in
Venezuela would likely be another foray into failed foreign policy, with all
the costs that go with it,” she said. “A destabilized Venezuela could also
trigger another wave of migration across the region, straining neighboring
countries and potentially reaching US shores.”
“For Venezuelans, the costs would be even greater,” she
added. “Beyond the immediate human toll of conflict, the long-term costs are
incalculable. Even if Maduro were removed, a chaotic transition could destroy
prospects for rebuilding Venezuela’s institutions, economy, and civil society.”
Amid Trump’s latest series of threats, Pope Leo echoed this warning aboard the papal plane. He said
Venezuela’s bishops are “looking for ways to calm the situation” and pursue
“the good of the people, because so often who suffers in these situations is
the people, not the authorities.”