January 6, 2026 // World News

Pope: Rights of Venezuelans Must Be Respected

OSV NEWS

Pope Leo XIV expressed “deep concern” following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, by the United States in a large-scale attack.

After reciting the Angelus prayer with pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Sunday, January 4, the pope said the “well-being of the beloved Venezuelan people must prevail over all other considerations and lead to overcoming violence and pursuing paths of justice and peace.”

Entrusting Venezuela to its patroness, Our Lady of Coromoto, as well as the country’s recently canonized saints, Sts. José Gregorio Hernández and Carmen Rendiles, Pope Leo called on Catholics to pray and highlighted the need to respect Venezuela’s right to autonomy and self-determination.

“This must guarantee the country’s sovereignty, ensure the rule of law enshrined in the Constitution, respect the human and civil rights of all, and work to build together a serene future of collaboration, stability, and harmony, with special attention to the poorest who suffer due to the difficult economic situation,” he said.

On Saturday, January 3, the U.S. carried out what President Donald Trump, writing on his social media platform Truth Social, called “a large-scale strike against Venezuela,” capturing Maduro and his wife. A Venezuelan official told The New York Times that preliminary reports indicate at least 40 Venezuelan civilians and military personnel were killed in the attack.

The pair were transported to New York that same evening. They, along with Maduro’s son and several other Venezuelan officials not currently in U.S. custody, are set to face federal charges of narcoterrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, and weapons offenses, according to a superseding indictment unsealed after Maduro and his wife were seized.

The U.S. mission, named “Absolute Resolve,” follows months of deadly strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats in the region and in the Pacific. Some 115 have been killed in 35 such attacks since September.

During a January 3 press conference from his Mar-a-Lago resort, Trump, flanked by Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Secretary of War Pete Hegseth, and Air Force General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said “not a single American service member was killed and not a single piece of American equipment was lost,” although the U.S. “had many helicopters, many planes, many, many people involved in that fight.”

Trump also declared at the press conference the U.S. will “run the country (Venezuela) until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition.” Trump also made clear a second military operation was possible to force Venezuela to comply, emphasizing, “We’re not afraid of boots on the ground.”

Reactions from around the world have been mixed, with many, particularly Venezuelans in the diaspora, hailing Maduro’s capture, while others expressed concerns that the U.S. attack violated international law.

A spokesperson said in a January 3 statement that U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres was “deeply alarmed by the recent escalation in Venezuela,” worrying the developments “constitute a dangerous precedent” of disrespect for the rules of international law. The statement called on “all actors in Venezuela to engage in inclusive dialogue, in full respect of human rights and the rule of law.”

The bishops of Venezuela issued a brief “message of accompaniment and closeness with the People of God” via Instagram and X that did not comment directly on the capture of the Venezuelan president and his wife but instead urged the faithful to pray “for the unity of our people.”

“In light of the events that our country is experiencing today, let us ask God to grant all Venezuelans serenity, wisdom, and strength,” the bishops said. “We express our solidarity with those who were wounded and the families of those who died.”

Less than an hour later, the bishops issued a second brief statement calling on the people of Venezuela “to live more intensely in hope and fervent prayer for peace in our hearts and in society, rejecting any type of violence.”

“May our hands open for encounter and mutual aid, and may the decisions that are taken always be made for the well-being of our people,” the bishops wrote.

The statement was shared by other Latin American bishops’ conferences, including the bishops of Argentina and Mexico.

The Mexican bishops’ conference said it was “united in prayer with the bishops of Venezuela to ask God for serenity, wisdom, and strength for the Venezuelan people.”

In a brief comment to SIR, the news agency of the Italian bishops’ conference, Archbishop Jesús González de Zárate of Valencia, Venezuela, president of the country’s bishops conference, said he had been “awake since 2 a.m. to follow what was happening” and that he was accompanying “our people with prayer.”

While Venezuelans are still in shock, Archbishop Zarate said, “the facts are still in development to properly assess” the situation and emphasized his “trust in God and the values of our people.”

Bishop Juan Carlos Bravo Salazar of Petare, a diocese located east of the Venezuelan capital of Caracas, issued a statement on January 3 on the diocese’s Instagram account acknowledging that the people of Venezuela “are living through moments of confusion, uncertainty, and pain, in which we do not see clearly what is happening.”

“Our strength and hope are in the Lord of life and peace,” Bishop Bravo said, urging the need “to maintain serenity, peace, and above all a climate of prayer.”

He also urged caution, asking people to “take shelter and not go out.”

“For the good of our people, do not make calls to (take to) the streets, nor disseminate unverified and unconfirmed information, nor from sources that are not reliable or official. Let us stay in communication among ourselves, between pastoral zones, and with our closest collaborators,” he said.