CARACAS, Venezuela — Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro announced on Monday that he has asked Pope Leo XIV to help maintain peace and stability in Venezuela amid ongoing U.S. military operations targeting alleged drug-smuggling boats off the country’s coast.
“I have great faith that Pope Leo, as I stated in the letter I sent him, will help Venezuela preserve and achieve peace and stability,” Maduro said during his weekly television program on state media.
The Venezuelan leader stated that he had written to the Pope to request the Vatican’s support, but did not disclose the contents of the letter. The government’s press office has not yet released a copy or further details.
Maduro’s appeal comes as tensions continue to rise following a series of U.S. military strikes in the Caribbean, which Washington claims are part of an “armed conflict” against drug cartels. Since last month, four such strikes have been carried out, with the most recent on Friday reportedly killing four people.
The Trump administration has informed U.S. lawmakers that it considers drug traffickers “unlawful combatants,” justifying the use of military force without formal congressional approval. The move has raised questions over the extent of presidential war powers and the potential for broader military engagement in the region.
Maduro has repeatedly accused the United States of using anti-narcotics operations as a pretext to destabilize his government and push for his removal.
Edgardo Hernal started college at UP Diliman and received his BA in Economics from San Sebastian College, Manila, and Masters in Information Systems Management from Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University in Oak Brook, IL. He has 25 years of copy editing and management experience at Thomson West, a subsidiary of Thomson Reuters.
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