US church leaders are speaking out, with many expressing concern following last weekend’s military operation in Venezuela and the removal of President Nicolás Maduro from office.
Episcopal leaders released statements calling for prayer and peace, while also raising concerns about the legality of the covert action.
“The Episcopal Church’s General Convention has a long-standing policy that ‘condemns in any nation the first use of armed force in the form of a preventive or pre-emptive strike aimed at disrupting a non-imminent, uncertain military threat,’” the Episcopal Church said in a 3 January Action Alert issued by the Episcopal Public Policy Network.
The church added: “Even as we recognise that intervention in sovereign states can sometimes be necessary to prevent atrocities, we discourage ‘the abuse of this norm to rationalise military actions in sovereign states for political ends.’”
Following months of tension between the U.S. and Venezuela — including deadly US military strikes against alleged drug-smuggling boats in the Caribbean Sea, the seizure of two oil tankers, and an increased U.S. military presence off Venezuela’s coast — the U.S. launched an attack on the South American country on 3 January, taking Maduro and his wife into custody.
The Trump administration reportedly did not seek congressional approval, as required by the US Constitution. Legal experts around the world are now questioning the strikes and accusing the administration of violating international law. Following the operation, President Trump told reporters that the US would run Venezuela for the foreseeable future. Church leaders across the country have condemned what they describe as “all forms of government aggression.”
“The United States attack on Venezuela continues a troubling pattern of unlawful U.S. military activity, including the 25 December 2025 airstrike in Nigeria,” said United Church of Christ General Minister Rev. Karen Georgia Thompson and Disciples of Christ General Minister Rev. Terri Hord Owens in a joint statement. “We condemn all forms of government aggression — whether directed at one’s own people or imposed upon another country.”
Other church leaders have also spoken out, calling for peace for Venezuelans. While the charges against Maduro reportedly include kidnapping, beatings, and murder linked to individuals accused of undermining the country’s ability to profit from cartel activity, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom has classified Venezuela as part of an “authoritarian triad” of religious persecution — a designation not referenced in the indictment.
“We are glad to see Nicolás Maduro brought to justice,” said Bruno Molina, executive director of the National Hispanic Baptist Network. “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.”