Stoney Point, NY — January 6th, 2025 — The Presbyterian Peace Fellowship calls upon our fellow Presbyterians to join the World Council of Churches and people of faith and goodwill around the world in condemning the military attack on Venezuela. By attacking a sovereign state, killing its civilians, and abducting its President and First Lady, the United States has acted contrary to the dictates of Christian ethics, neighborly decency, and international law.
By waging an unprovoked and aggressive war against Venezuela, the Trump administration has violated the Constitution of the United States which, in Article I, Section 8, gives to Congress alone the power to declare war. By acting unilaterally in this most recent military adventure, the United States has degraded the international order which, since the end of the Second World War, has endeavored to keep peace between nations.
By citing the Monroe Doctrine as it uses violence to exert political control over Venezuela and its petroleum resources, the United States has reverted to a failed set of policies and behaviors that, for more than two centuries, have enriched a few American businesses and a small number of Latin American oligarchs, while bringing poverty, misery and suffering to the overwhelming majority of the people living in Latin America. This resurrection of gunboat diplomacy from the scrapheap of history, combined with absurd propaganda about Venezuela stealing “our oil”, exposes the Trump administration’s lies about stopping drug trafficking as it commits murder in international waters. All of it is a pretext to exert colonialist power over others and to send a message to the rest of the hemisphere that the United States is willing to use military power to exert control over natural resources in Latin America.
This is a war of conquests designed to gain access to Venezuelan oil. As such, it violates several of the Ten Commandments that are among the Bible’s most important moral and ethical directives. The American lust for Venezuela’s oil violates the tenth commandment, which asks us not to covet those things of value that belong to our neighbor. By taking control of Venezuela’s oil, the United States has violated the eighth commandment which forbids theft. By killing people in pursuit of petroleum, it has violated the sixth commandment which prohibits murder. By suggesting the war is about preventing the flow of narcotics into the United States, the United States has violated the ninth commandment, which asks us not to bear false witness.
Even as it causes great harm to people living in Venezuela, the American invasion of its southern neighbor also does violence to the Kingdom of God, where—if the Gospels are to be trusted—the poor, the poor in spirit, the meek, the grieving, those who long for righteousness, and the persecuted are the ones who are blessed and where the peacemakers are called children of God.
This invasion of Venezuela is rooted in our arrogant colonialist past that has perpetrated sabotage, economic embargoes, military invasions, coups and attempted coups that have unleashed untold death and suffering on the people of Latin America. It is empire building that pits the powerful against the weak, and the rich against the poor. The time has come for the United States to leave behind the era of colonialism and empire building. It must repent of the use of military violence as a tool of foreign policy. Therefore, raising our voices in prophetic witness, we call upon the Presbyterian Church (USA) and Christians everywhere to condemn the American war against Venezuela as immoral, unjust, and contrary to the values of Jesus.
This statement comes from the Peace Church Working Group of the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship and is issued on behalf of the organization.
About the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship
Founded in 1944, the Presbyterian Peace Fellowship (presbypeacefellowship.org) has been championing the nonviolent teachings of Jesus, calling for prophetic action against violence, exploitation, and war. PPF works to confront violence in all its forms through education, advocacy, accompaniment, and worship.
Media Contact: Dezi Primous-Gillon Communications and Digital Organizing Manager dezi@presbypeacefellowship.org or info@presbypeacefellowship.org
