Maduro thanks Lula and Pope Leo for solidarity

The President of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, thanked the messages from President Lula, Pope Leo 14 and UN (United Nations) experts in defense of peace at a time when tension with the United States is growing.

During a speech at the Congress of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela (PSUV), in Caracas, on Tuesday (4), the Venezuelan leader said:

“Today there were three very strong statements. The statement by Pope Leo, vicar of Christ, head of the Catholic Church, who called for dialogue between the United States and Venezuela to seek solutions that defend and preserve peace, defend and preserve peace. Thank you, Pope Leo. I sent you a letter a month or so ago, which has reached you. Many thanks also to the office of human rights experts at the United Nations, which has just made a tremendous statement against the threats of the use of military force against Venezuela,” he stated.

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Finally, he recognized the Brazilian president’s stance: “I thank President Lula da Silva too, because he made a strong statement for peace in South America, in Latin America, and the power that Celac must have.”

Next Sunday (9), Lula will go to Colombia for the 4th Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) and the European Union (EU). The president and his Latin American counterparts are expected to issue a joint statement for peace in the region.

Peace at risk

Information suggests that US President Donald Trump has a plan to overthrow Maduro. According to The New York Times, the scenarios outlined involve attacks on military units, control of oil production and infrastructure, as well as the capture and assassination of the Venezuelan leader.

The increase in tensions began with bombings of vessels off the coast of Venezuela and Colombia. The world’s largest aircraft carrier, the USS Gerald Ford, is on its way to the Caribbean Sea. The action aims to intimidate the Maduro government.

This conflict heated by Trump led Pope Leo to speak out in favor of expanding dialogue between the parties to avoid a war.

“A country has the right to have a military to defend peace, to build peace. In this case, it seems to be a little different, increasing tension. I think that with violence we do not win. The point is to seek dialogue, to seek a correct way to find solutions to problems that may exist in a given country”, highlighted the pope.

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President Lula also took a stand: “The Celac meeting only makes sense at this moment if we are going to discuss this issue of American warships here in the seas of Latin America. I had the opportunity to talk to President Trump about this subject, telling him that Latin America is a zone of peace”, said Lula.

In the demonstration that was thanked by Maduro, Lula also reinforced that Latin America is a region of peace, where it is not necessary to have war and that political problems must be resolved within politics.