Pope Leo has implored Donald Trump not to use military force to force out Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro.
The first American leader of the Catholic Church told reporters Tuesday that it would be “better” to “find another way” to apply pressure, such as hosting a dialogue with Maduro, or imposing economic sanctions on the South American nation, “if that is what they want to do in the United States.”
Since early September, the U.S. has destroyed at least 20 small boats traversing the Caribbean that Trump administration officials deemed—without an investigation or interdiction—to be smuggling drugs. At least 83 people have been killed in the attacks.
The attacks have been condemned by U.S. lawmakers on both sides of the aisle and foreign human advocates alike, including the U.N. human rights chief, who said in October that the strikes “violate international human rights law.”
While chalking the seemingly needless violence up to counter-narcoterrorism efforts, Trump has simultaneously leveraged the aggression to shove Maduro out of power, something that he tried and failed to do in 2019.
The White House confirmed Sunday that the two leaders shared a phone call late last week, during which Trump reportedly issued a stern ultimatum.
“You can save yourself and those closest to you, but you must leave the country now,” Trump told Maduro, according to insiders who spoke with the Miami Herald. That is, “only if he agreed to resign right away.”
Maduro, meanwhile, told thousands of his supporters Monday that he would not capitulate or settle for “a slave’s peace.”
Responding to a reporter Tuesday, Leo suggested that the Trump administration had not been consistent with its policy toward Venezuela.
“On one hand, it seems there was a call between the two presidents.… On the other hand, there is the danger, there is the possibility there will be some activity, some (military) operation.
“The voices that come from the United States, they change with a certain frequency,” the Chicagoan pontiff said.