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- Statement About the Current Situation in Venezuela
The executive committee of the Alliance of Presbyterian and Reformed Churches of Latin America made the following statement about the current situation in Venezuela:
“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among human beings of good will, in whom God is well pleased” (Luke 2:14).
The man pictured in the photograph lost a large part of his house in the recent US attack. This man was a civilian and had no connection at all with the Maduro regime. News reports vary on the number of Venezuelan civilians who were killed during the recent US effort to arrest Maduro. Some reports say that as few as 40 civilians were killed. Others put the total as high as 100.
The Christmas season is not yet over — a season that commits us to the One who was announced as a messenger of peace and a foretaste of the justice of the Reign of God — yet the echoes of arrogance, violence, and wars have already returned to our region. Though long announced, they continue to shake the foundations of a continent and, especially, of a people who ask only to build their future in full autonomy, based on their own decisions and resources; a people whose only desire is their independence.
As the Presbyterian and Reformed family of Latin America, we condemn all violent actions, all military and political interference, every attack on the sovereignty of Venezuela or any other country in the world—any intervention that by force violates the right of peoples to self‑determination. Today our solidarity is with the Presbyterian Church of Venezuela, with the Venezuelan people, and with all people of goodwill around the world who share the indignation stirred by a power with imperial aspirations that arrogates to itself a right that belongs solely to Venezuelan women and men.
The churches and movements that are members of the Alliance of Presbyterian and Reformed Churches of Latin America call upon all the Christian people of Latin America to raise their prophetic voice in affirmation of peace, life, and justice as non‑negotiable values for God’s project for Creation. We also ask all the Christian people in Latin America to proclaim the right of every country to its sovereignty as well as the right of every people to live without fear of invasion. That is what it means today to announce the message that inspires us as communities of faith, namely “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and goodwill to all human beings.”
We also invite prayers to our God who, in Jesus, came to live among the most disadvantaged and to consecrate life as the essence of his Kingdom. Through our prayers, let us make our sisters and brothers in Venezuela feel that the solidarity of their family of faith sustains them in this difficult moment of their history, and that God accompanies and blesses them precisely in this difficult moment. May our prayers be signs of the love and commitment of the Presbyterian and Reformed community in Latin America that walks alongside the Venezuelan people in all that is necessary in the pursuit of peace and the right of every nation to its independence.
Waldensian pastor Claudia Tron is a member of the Executive Committee of the Alliance of Presbyterian and Reformed Churches in Latin America with special responsibility for women and gender justice.
Berla E. Andrade-De Vargas from the Presbyterian Church in Venezuela is vice president of the Alliance.