Photo Credits: suga-suga-wUjeq4KIvyk-unsplash
IFOR welcomes and supports this statement from FOR-USA (its US branch) and its allies on the US aggression of Venezuela
A Statement on the U.S. Invasion of Venezuela and Its Aftermath
January 9, 2026
The Fellowship of Reconciliation and its allies in the undersigned peace and justice movements join the chorus of voices across the United States and around the world in denouncing U.S. military intervention in the early morning of January 3, 2026, to capture President Nicholas Maduro and Cilia Flores and bring them to the United States. We express grave concern about the ongoing situation in Venezuela and the massive needs of its people.
This violation of Venezuela’s sovereignty is illegal under international law, including the Charter of the United Nations and the Charter of the Organization of American States, and U.S. law, including the Constitution and the War Powers Act. Unfortunately, it is part of a long-standing pattern of domination by the United States of the Western Hemisphere and other regions through direct military intervention, covert operations, the erosion of international laws and norms, and the use of U.S. criminal law and courts to police foreign nations and their leaders.
Almost sixty years ago, Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivered a speech to thousands of faith leaders in which he “broke the silence” on his opposition to the U.S. war in Vietnam. As Dr. King described the devastating interconnection of militarism, racism, and extreme materialism in the context of that war effort, he stated, “We are adding cynicism to the process of death, for they must know after a short period there that none of the things we claim to be fighting for are really involved.” Therefore, the attack on Venezuela is not only illegal, it is also immoral. It should be opposed and resisted by people of faith and goodwill.
Throughout the past year, the U.S. has targeted the Venezuelan people and their government with a wide range of actions and belligerent statements. In early 2025, the Trump administration cancelled Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for more than 600,000 Venezuelans living in the United States. Thousands of Venezuelans were then confirmed deported last year, including some sent to El Salvador to be incarcerated in a “torture prison” known as CECOT. The administration’s usage of the Alien Enemies Act to claim authority for those mass deportations was ruled illegal by the U.S. Supreme Court in a remarkably unanimous 9-0 decision.
Starting in September 2025, the U.S. began attacking Venezuelan vessels in international waters, saying without substantiation that they were being used to smuggle illegal drugs to the United States. Such unprovoked attacks on small boats in the Caribbean have killed more than 100 people and raised serious accusations that the U.S. military committed war crimes. In December, the U.S. seized an oil tanker off Venezuela’s coast, sparking fears that it was seeking to take over the nation’s massive oil reserves
The failure of the U.S. administration to provide clear and consistent explanations about this past weekend’s dramatic military action raises profound concerns: legally, ethically, and in terms of humanitarian commitments. Failure to provide information about plans for a political transition—and threats of further military action—deepens the anxiety of Venezuelans in the country and in the diaspora. We recognize that many Venezuelans who have suffered from economic privation or the suppression of human rights are now celebrating the possibility of change in their country. Yet those hopes are mixed with grave concern for the future, with a fractured state and massive humanitarian needs.
During his April 1967 address, Dr. King quoted from a letter he had received from a Buddhist monk – likely Thich Nhat Hanh, whom Dr. King had recently nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. In words that echo hauntingly today, the monk wrote: “The Americans are forcing even their friends into becoming their enemies. It is curious that the Americans, who calculate so carefully on the possibilities of military victory, do not realize that in the process they are incurring deep psychological and political defeat. The image of America will never again be the image of revolution, freedom, and democracy, but the image of violence and militarism.”
If human rights, democracy, and the well-being of the Venezuelan people were at the forefront of U.S. concerns, a well-documented case for advancing these issues would have been put forward by the U.S. administration to Congress and international allies over months. Furthermore, if concern about the supply of illegal drugs in the United States were indeed the primary concern, as had been suggested, President Trump would not have pardoned former Honduran President Juan Hernandez just last month, who had been convicted of drug trafficking in 2024 and sentenced to 45 years in prison.
Instead, to many, the attack on Venezuela evokes the long, documented legacy of U.S. imperialism in Latin America and the Caribbean and its efforts to extract and command fossil fuels and natural resources. The action has disturbing parallels to wars against Iraq and efforts at regime change throughout the Middle East and the Americas. It is painfully reminiscent of the U.S. invasion of Panama in 1989 to capture President Manuel Noriega to stand trial for alleged drug crimes. That war was promoted to overcome the so-called “Vietnam Syndrome” and signaled a period of more aggressive military force around the world. At that time, FOR (USA) worked with other NGOs to document that civilian deaths were much higher than official reports.
The Fellowship of Reconciliation, the oldest interfaith peace organization in the United States, and the undersigned organizations reiterate that peace and justice do not result from military action and violence. We call on people of faith and goodwill to take the following actions:
· Remain attentive to the ongoing crisis in Venezuela. Listen to the voices of the Venezuelan people in Venezuela and listen to Venezuelans in the diaspora, recognizing that there are many and diverse opinions about matters of national consequence.
· Demand accountability of the U.S. administration for its actions through Congressional action and protest, and call on Congress to (1) investigate this action as well as the military strikes on boats in the Caribbean, and (2) oppose any form of U.S. military or political occupation of Venezuela.
· Support efforts to protect refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants in the United States, drawing on the teachings of our many spiritual traditions that center these commitments. Support the humanitarian needs of the Venezuelan people, both within their home country and its millions of refugees.
· Oppose efforts by the U.S. and multinational corporations to extract and assume ownership of Venezuela’s natural resources, including its oil reserves.
· Protest expansionist intentions by the U.S. as well as any efforts to military intervene in other countries with which it has political interest or conflict, including Cuba, Colombia, Iran, and Greenland.
As members of FOR-USA, Peace Fellowships and allied movements, and as people of faith and conscience from many backgrounds, we know that peace is a daily practice. Achieving peace in the world is sparked by ordinary people practicing active nonviolence, engaging in open dialogue, creating relationships of mutual respect and care, and challenging violence and structures of injustice that diminish the well-being of all people. So, as we call for sovereignty and self-determination for the Venezuelan people, and justice and accountability for the U.S. military actions that have profoundly upended our hemisphere, we simultaneously resolve to maintain our own practices in order to collectively build the Beloved Community and ensure a shared peaceful future.
Endorsed by:
· Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR-USA)
· InterReligious Task Force on Central America
· Episcopal Peace Fellowship
· Jewish Peace Fellowship
· Muslim Peace Fellowship
· Disciples Peace Fellowship
· Presbyterian Peace Fellowship
· National Council of Elders
· Vidas Viequenses Valen (Vieques Lives Matter)