Pope Leo XIV criticized the deployment of US forces in the Caribbean this Tuesday, without mentioning President Donald Trump, and stated that “no one wins with violence.”
President Donald Trump ordered a military deployment to the Caribbean under the excuse of confronting drug trafficking in the region in recent weeks, and US forces have carried out multiple attacks against suspected drug traffickers, in which dozens of people have died.
In response to a question from a journalist as he left his secondary residence in Castel Gandolfo, Leo XIV stated that a country has the right to have soldiers to “defend peace, but in this case it seems a little different.” “It increases tensions,” declared the 70-year-old father, referring to reports about American ships that are deployed in the Caribbean near the coast of Venezuela, reports AFP.
«With violence we do not win. “What we have to do is seek dialogue,” added the American pontiff, who also has Peruvian nationality.
The president, Nicolás Maduro, has denounced that the country is the victim of a “multiform war” orchestrated from the US, including the deployment of marines in the Caribbean and bombings against vessels allegedly linked to drug trafficking. These actions have been described by Caracas as an “armed aggression” for the purposes of regime change.
Against migrants
The father, born in Chicago, was also asked about the migrants detained in his hometown, which has been one of the main targets of Trump’s campaign against immigrants.
“Jesus says very clearly that at the end of the world we will be asked how we received the stranger, whether we received him and welcomed him or not,” said the pontiff.
«I think we have to reflect deeply on what is happening. “Many people who have lived for years and years without ever causing problems have been deeply affected by what is happening right now,” he said.
In September, Leo XIV, a former missionary in Peru, criticized what he called the “inhuman treatment” of immigrants in the United States.
