United Church and Latin American Partners Condemn US Actions in Venezuela

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“Peace and justice are not abstract ideals but concrete ethical imperatives,” state Latin American and Caribbean partners

Credit: Jared Rainbow | Dreamstime.com

Published On: January 8, 2026

The United Church of Canada issued a statement (see Downloads below) this past weekend strongly condemning the US military attack on Venezuela and the kidnapping of its president, Nicolás Maduro, and his wife Cilia Flores. This armed aggression violates international law. Partners in the region have also shared that additional threats made by US officials against Colombia, Cuba, and Mexico have been met with rejection and alarm.

The outcry is coming from Latin American and Caribbean partners of the United Church, its full communion partners in the US, and from Canadian and global ecumenical organizations.

The member churches and movements of the Alliance of Reformed Presbyterian Churches in Latin America (AIPRAL) ask Christians in Latin America to “raise their prophetic voice to affirm peace, life and justice as non-negotiable values of God’s plan for creation, to proclaim the right of a country to its sovereignty and the right of a people to live without fear of being invaded, to announce the message that animates us as communities of faith: Glory to God in the heights and on earth peace and good will for all human beings.”

“As faith-based organizations, we affirm that peace and justice are not abstract ideals but concrete ethical imperatives,” said ACT Alliance in Latin America and the Caribbean in a recent statement. “We reiterate that military aggression can never be a solution, and that the defense of life, the self-determination of people, and regional peace must prevail over any geopolitical, economic, or strategic interests.”

Please lend your voice to the outcry by sending a letter to your Member of Parliament, the Foreign Affairs Minister, and the Prime Minister to condemn this flagrant breach of international law.

The United Church joins with our full communion partners to “offer our prayers for all communities impacted by the recent unilateral and unlawful decisions of the United States to attack sovereign nations.” A joint statement from January 4 by the United Church of Christ and the Disciples of Christ states, “As churches committed to the gospel of peace, we grieve the loss, fear, and instability these actions have caused globally. These actions do not create the conditions for a safer or more peaceful world.”

The Canadian government has failed to explicitly condemn the attack as a clear violation of the UN Charter and an explicit affront to the international rule of law. In response, Canadian civil society organizations, including the United Church, have sent an open letter (see Downloads) to Prime Minister Carney through Americas Policy Group and Common Frontiers.

We echo and amplify our partners’ voices, shared in the statements below. Please lend your voice to the outcry by sending a letter to your Member of Parliament, the Foreign Affairs Minister, and the Prime Minister to condemn this flagrant breach of international law.