Pope Leo, bishops react to U.S. capture of Maduro with concern for Venezuela

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 Jan. 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.

After months of tension, U.S. President Donald Trump ordered the nighttime military operation Jan. 3, capturing Maduro and his wife, and transporting them to New York to face narco-terrorism conspiracy charges, The Associated Press reported.

According to AP, Venezuelan officials said some people were killed in the U.S. attack but did not disclose the number of casualties.

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.

The country’s bishops 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 for “prayer 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 Jan. 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.

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