Pope Leo has urged Donald Trump not to try to overthrow Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro by using military force and instead try to negotiate.
The Trump administration is considering its options as it steps up its campaign against Maduro, whom it accuses of being linked to the illegal drug trade. The country’s authoritarian leader has denied the allegations.
The US has deployed its largest military presence in the Caribbean since the 1989 invasion of Panama, and has launched 21 attacks on suspected drug-trafficking boats in the Caribbean and Pacific, killing at least 83 people.
Trump reportedly gave Maduro an ultimatum to leave power immediately during a recent call, but the Venezuelan leader rejected it, demanding a “global amnesty” for himself and his allies.
Speaking to reporters on the papal flight returning from his first foreign trip as Pope to Turkey and Lebanon, Leo said the Catholic Church was “trying to find a way to defuse the situation” because “in these situations it is the people who suffer, not the authorities”.
“On the one hand, it appears that there has been a telephone conversation between the two presidents,” he said. “On the other hand, this threat, this possibility that there could be some action, some operation, including an invasion of Venezuelan territory.”
Leo said that if the United States wants to bring about change in Venezuela, it should not use military force but “should seek dialogue, including economic pressure”.
The Chicago-born pope was elected in May following the death of Pope Francis. During the flight, he also criticized anti-immigrant activists who spread “fear” towards Islam and said that cooperation between Christians and Muslims in Lebanon should be an example for Europe and the US.
The main objective of his six-day visit, during which he met several religious and political leaders, was to urge peace amid rising tensions in the Middle East. At the beginning of the visit he said that the world war was being fought “in pieces” and was endangering the future of humanity.
Leo also spoke publicly for the first time about what it was like to be chosen to lead the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics.
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He said that during the secret conference he began to realize that he could be elected.
“When I saw how things were going, I accepted the fact – I said, ‘This could be a reality’,” said Leo, 70. “I took a deep breath. I said, ‘We go, Lord, you are in charge and you lead the way.’
He also discussed plans for future trips abroad and said the next tour could be to Africa, including Algeria.
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