Venezuela’s Church Leaders Call For Prayer Following Maduro’s Arrest
LIMA, Peru — As President Nicolás Maduro is being transferred to New York to stand trial for drug trafficking and terrorism crimes, after having been captured early this morning by U.S. forces on the orders of President Donald Trump, a series of calls to prayer have been issued by evangelical leaders and church organizations in response to the situation the country is experiencing.
In recent months, Maduro sought to draw closer to the evangelical church, as occurred last November, when the president convened church leaders for a time of “prayer for peace” in the face of threats from Trump.
At the event, which was broadcast live on state television from the “Simón Bolívar” hall in the Miraflores Presidential Palace, Kenyan pastor David Edward Owuor laid hands on Maduro and declared that “you will reject the enemy who is going to attack you; you will have victory in the name of Jesus.”
READ: With Prayers, Proverbs And Psalms, Venezuelan Christians React To Maduro’s Capture
Maduro is now being transferred to the place where he will be tried. No statements of support has been heard from any prominent religious leader for the captured dictator.
This church sector close to Maduro attended various demonstrations of public support called by the regime amid criticism from more institutional sectors.
The socialist regime granted a series of state financial supports to churches, such as “My Church Well Equipped” or the “The Good Shepherd” bonus to support churches that applied for them, in order to win their favor.
Working groups were also formed to provide access for religious messages to the media.
Analysts said the government’s effort to draw closer to evangelicals was carried out in response to international criticism over human rights violations and the injustice experienced by more than 800 political prisoners who are critics of the regime.
The government also officially established the celebration of the “March for Jesus,” to be held on the first Saturday of August each year.
The previous year, another group of evangelical pastors had named Maduro “protector of the family according to the original design of the Bible.”
The religious leaders stated that the socialist leader had set an example as a family man by appearing alongside his wife, Cilia Flores. On that occasion, pastors also pointed to Maduro’s loyalty and commitment to Christian values for the preservation of the Venezuelan family.
In recent hours, various church federations published statements on social media.
The Evangelical Council of Venezuela, in a statement signed by Pastor José G. Piñero, asked its members not to be carried away by media reports, but rather to “inform themselves with discernment and dedicate themselves to prayer for the country,” without mentioning the U.S. intervention.
For its part, the Council of Evangelical Methodist Churches of Latin America said in a pastoral letter that early this morning they “were taken by surprise by acts of violence and aggression caused by the military action of the United States against Venezuela,” adding, “we condemn any military intervention that does not respect the sovereignty of peoples and that fosters ideologies of death,” and then called for prayer for the situation in the country.
The Alliance of Presbyterian Churches also published a statement declaring, “we condemn all violent actions, all military and political interference against the sovereignty of Venezuela.”
Pastoral leaders throughout the country called on their congregations to remain in prayer in the face of the uncertainty being experienced in the country.
In contrast to this evangelical sector, Venezuelan Catholic bishops had distanced themselves from the government. On several occasions, the bishops have asked the Electoral Council to present the results of past elections in order to certify the transparency of the previous electoral process that reelected Maduro.
The Vatican’s daily newspaper L’Osservatore Romano opened its Saturday edition with news of U.S. airstrikes against Venezuela.
So far, there has been no official comment from the Vatican or from Pope Leo XIV regarding Maduro’s arrest.
You can read the following article in Spanish here.
Reynaldo Aragaon is a veteran journalist based in Lima, Peru. He is a board member at The Media Project.