The National Conference of Bishops of Brazil (CNBB) sent a letter to the Venezuelan Episcopal Conference expressing solidarity with the current situation in the country following the attack led by the US government.

The text was published on social media and describes the situation in the neighboring country as one marked by tensions, suffering, and uncertainties affecting the people.

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“We come together spiritually in your prayers and pastoral initiatives, expressing our solidarity with the victims of violence, the wounded, and the bereaved families,” the note reads.

“As pastors of the Church in Latin America, we share the pain of the suffering people and renew our hope in the power of the Gospel of unarmed and disarming peace,” the statement goes on to say.

In the letter, the Brazilian conference cites sincere dialogue, justice, and respect for human dignity and the sovereignty of nations as the only way to promote the common good, in addition to “strengthening democracy and building a social coexistence marked by reconciliation and lasting peace.”

“May the Holy Spirit continue to sustain the prophetic mission of the Church in Venezuela, granting serenity, wisdom, and strength to all, and leading the Venezuelan people along the paths of unity and hope,” the message says.

Interventions

Last Saturday (Jan. 3), several explosions were reported in neighborhoods of the Venezuelan capital Caracas. Amid the military attack orchestrated by US, Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores were captured by US elite forces and taken to New York.

The raid marks a new episode of direct US interventions in Latin America. The last time the US invaded a Latin American country was in 1989, in Panama, when the military kidnapped then-President Manuel Noriega, accusing him of drug trafficking.

As they did with Noriega, the US accuses Maduro of leading an alleged Venezuelan cartel called De Los Soles, without presenting any evidence. Experts in international drug trafficking question the existence of the cartel.

Critics see the action as a geopolitical measure to distance Venezuela from global adversaries of the US – such as China and Russia – as well as to exercise greater control over the oil of a country that boasts the largest proven oil reserves on the planet.