Intervention in Venezuela and Catholic Social Teaching

This episode is about the US military intervention in Venezuela that involved the capture of the now-former Venezuelan president, Nicolas Maduro, and his wife, Cilia Flores, and how this news story looks from the perspective of Catholic Social Teaching. 

Here are references and additional resources.

1. Maduro raid killed about 75 in Venezuela, U.S. officials assess  January 6, 2026
2. Rubio briefs lawmakers on 'threefold process' for Venezuela  January 7, 2026
3. Vatican news release on January 4, 2026, with Pope Leo’s comments at Angelus and (scroll down the page) appeal from Venezuelan Bishops
4. The Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council (CELAM) expresses solidarity with the Church in Venezuela January 6, 2026
5. Venezuela strikes, takeover plans violate international law, says Notre Dame scholar  January 4, 2026
6. Unjust War Theory: When Law Enforcement Becomes Moral Insanity – pointed assessment of US intervention in Venezuela by a Catholic commentator and professor of finance at Benedictine College
7. Just War Theory and the Venezuela Invasion – assessment by an Anglican who is a retired professor of systematic theology and ethics
8. Pope Leo’s address to the Vatican diplomatic corps on January 9, 2026.  Here is the Vatican news release summarizing the Pope’s comments, and here is the full text of his remarks 
9. Quotations from pastoral letters and papal encyclicals from the past century regarding peace and non-violence 
10. Podcast website with full transcripts for this episode and all other episodes

Transcript

Welcome to “Headline News and Catholic Social Teaching,” where we take a brief look at stories in the news, not from a left or right political perspective, but through the lens of Catholic Social Teaching.  I’m your host, Tom Mulhern, and my hope is that this podcast will help us grow in our love of God and love of our neighbors.  

This episode is about the US military intervention in Venezuela that involved the capture of the now-former Venezuelan president and his wife, and how this news story looks from the perspective of Catholic Social Teaching.  Now, a few weeks ago I did an episode about the US military    bombing suspected drug smuggling boats near Venezuela, and while that is a related story, this is a significant new development and raises a new set of questions.

Here is the outline of the news story.  On Jan. 3, 2026, 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 that country’s President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.  Maduro and his wife were taken to New York, where they face federal charges of narcoterrorism, conspiracy to import cocaine, and weapons offenses.

Initial casualty estimates by US sources indicate that approximately 75 people died in the raid, primarily Venezuelan and Cuban security forces but also some civilians. Venezuelan officials say that 100 people died, and a similar number were injured.  Seven members of the US military forces were injured, and there were no US fatalities.

In his press conference immediately following the attack, President Trump stated that the US will “run the country (that is, Venezuela) until such time as we can do a safe, proper and judicious transition.” It wasn’t clear how the U.S. would do that with Maduro’s government still in place, which is the situation as I record this episode in mid-January 2026.

In a briefing with members of Congress on January 7, Secretary of State Marco Rubio described what’s next in Venezuela as a 3-step process of "stabilization," "recovery" and "transition," without providing details to the public about what might be involved in each step. 

Rubio did tell reporters that step one will include selling Venezuelan oil and distributing the profits.  

So this story will continue to develop and change in the days ahead, and it could go in many different directions.  However, we can still look at what has already taken place from the perspective of Catholic Social Teaching, because subsequent developments won’t change what’s already happened.    

But before looking at Catholic teaching, I want to point out that the Trump Administration is not the first to assert US military power in the region.  There has been a recurring history of uninvited US military interventions in the affairs of Latin America nations, often with decidedly mixed results.  The Catholic perspectives that I will share related to this intervention in Venezuela could probably be applied in varying degrees to some of those earlier interventions as well, but my focus here is on the current news story in Venezuela.

So, the initial reaction from Pope Leo was to express his concern.  He called for the good of the Venezuelan people to prevail, for the rule of law to be upheld, and for the human and civil rights of all to be respected.  He asked for prayers for the Venezuelan people, and he concluded his remarks with the statement “Let us continue to have faith in the God of peace. Let us pray and stand in solidarity with the peoples who suffer because of wars.”

The Venezuelan Bishops Conference issued a statement that said, “In view of the events that our country is experiencing today, let us ask God to grant all Venezuelans serenity, wisdom, and strength.  We stand in solidarity with those who were injured and with the families of those who died. Let us persevere in prayer for the unity of our people.”  The Bishops also called for decisions to be made for the good of the Venezuelan people.

The Latin American and Caribbean Episcopal Council, that is, bishops from the wider Latin American region, for its part expressed its closeness to the Church and the Venezuelan people in their struggle for peace, justice, and reconciliation, and called for a commitment to the most vulnerable and to building a future of dignity for all.

Well, these are the kind of pastoral statements we would expect from the Pope and the Bishops, focusing on the peace and welfare of the Venezuelan people in an uncertain and unsettled situation.  There were no expressions of support for Maduro from Catholic leaders, who have long spoken out against his dictatorial, brutal and unjust regime.  Also, there were no expressions of support for the US military strike on Venezuela from Church leaders, who have consistently called for restraint and respect for international law in dealing with Venezuela.

On that point, there appears to be a consensus among legal experts that the US military operation in Venezuela was a violation of international law.  According to Mary Ellen O’Connell, professor of law and international peace studies at Notre Dame, the U.S. strikes on — and announced temporary takeover of — Venezuela violate both the United Nations Charter and the Christian principles on which it is based.

O’Connell stated “No country has the right to take control of another country.  The only way such action could be lawful is if the United Nations Security Council authorized it.” Which, of course, wasn’t the case here.

Now, it’s worth emphasizing that Catholic teaching strongly supports respect for international law, viewing it as essential for promoting the common good, upholding universal human dignity, ensuring justice, and fostering global peace.

What about Catholic just war theory, which defines the conditions under which war is justifiable?  Does the fact that Maduro and his regime have committed serious human rights violations for years mean that the US military action could be considered allowable under the Catholic just war theory?  

Well, it’s a fair question, and the short answer is no, this military intervention does not meet just war criteria.  Catholic just war theory specifies a number of conditions, all of which must be present for war to be a just response.  In the notes I’ve provided links to a couple of resources that go through detailed descriptions of how the US action in Venezuela fails to meet the just war criteria.

Also, the fact that no Church leaders have suggested that the US intervention in Venezuela meets the just war criteria should tell us something.

A few days after the strike, Pope Leo did make some remarks that I think are extremely important, as his words help us put the US action into a broader global and historical context.  

On January 9, 2026, in his annual “State of the World” address to diplomats assigned to the Vatican, the pope warned that “war is back in vogue” and that peace is increasingly sought through force rather than justice.  He cautioned that the foundations of international coexistence are being steadily undermined, as diplomacy based on dialogue gives way to the logic of power and deterrence.

Pope Leo XIV lamented the weakening of the principle established after the Second World War, by which nations pledged not to use force to violate the borders of others.

“The principle… has been completely undermined,” he said, warning that peace is increasingly sought “through weapons as a condition for asserting one’s own dominion,” a mentality that “gravely threatens the rule of law, which is the foundation of all peaceful civil coexistence.”

The Pope cited a list of specific places around the globe where this “peaceful civil coexistence” is threatened by violence and conflict, including Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan, Venezuela and more.  Now, what the US has done so far in Venezuela is very different from the all-out war that Russia has inflicted on Ukraine, and the Pope was not making any suggestion that the levels of violence and destruction in these conflicts are comparable.  But he was pointing out that all of these conflicts involve the use of force in ways that are undermining the international constraints that nations agreed to observe following World War II.

I’ve included a link to the Vatican news release describing the Pope’s remarks.  I strongly encourage all US Catholics to read it and think about what it means for our country’s actions in Venezuela and our position in the world.

As I record this episode in mid-January 2026, it is too early to tell what the eventual outcome of the US intervention will be for the people of Venezuela.  Will the US administration take actions that lead to a peaceful transition to a democratically-elected government and restored human rights, or will the outcome be more conflict, civil unrest and more misery, or will it be something else?  We don’t know, time will tell, and we certainly need to pray for the people of Venezuela at this time.  

Rather than demonstrating what Pope Leo calls a “zeal for war,” where those in power seek to impose their will through force, as Catholics we are called by the Prince of Peace, Jesus Christ, to have a “zeal for peace” as the primary way to resolve our differences and pursue the common good.  Peace is not always the easiest way, it’s usually not the most efficient way, but it is the way of the kingdom of God.

Well, that’s all for this episode of “Headline News and Catholic Social Teaching.”  If you found it worthwhile, I invite you to share it with others.  If you want to learn more about me or the podcast, I encourage you to listen to Episode 1 Introduction.

And I hope that, in some small way, this episode might help us live our lives guided by the Holy Spirit through the teachings of the Church.  

Thank you for listening.