Four months after U.S. special forces captured and removed President Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela remains trapped in a political no-manʼs-land.
The leadership of the Venezuelan Bishops’ Conference updated the pope at the Vatican on May 4 about the situation: “Change has arrived, yes — but democracy has not yet,” Archbishop Jesús González de Zárate, president of the Venezuelan Bishops’ Conference, told ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News.
“Many unresolved questions remain regarding what Venezuela’s immediate future will be like,” Zárate explained, following the meeting with the leadership team held with Pope Leo XIV, to whom they laid out the complex and uncertain situation the country is currently facing.
“Throughout these past months, we have asked ourselves many questions, and we still do not have sufficient answers,” he explained in a statement to ACI Prensa.
The bishops “constantly” receive requests to mediate the release of political prisoners. However, “the channels are not always open,” Zárate said.
More than 450 political prisoners remain behind bars, according to the count by Foro Penal, the promised amnesty has stalled, and fear of arbitrary detention persists in the streets.
As pastors, he noted, the Venezuelan bishops “have highlighted the need to restore the primacy of human dignity, which is the fundamental point of the Church’s social doctrine.”
“Upon this,” he clearly affirmed, “would rest the freedom of citizens, the right to participate, the paths toward democratization that we need, and overcoming of merely partisan or private interests for the sake of the common good.”
Political continuity following Maduro’s departure
Although he acknowledged that since Maduroʼs capture, “there is a change, a result of the fact that the person who previously held the highest office is no longer there,” he pointed out that “there is also continuity among the political actors,” which casts doubt on whether there will be political change.
The prelate emphasized that the outlook remains uncertain: “More concrete decisions were expected in the political sphere, which have yet to materialize.”
Relations with the United States have been normalized, but for Zárate, the advent of democracy does not appear to be imminent. “The reconstruction of political institutions, economic recovery, and the establishment of a new social dynamic constitute a slow, complex, and difficult undertaking,” he said.
In this process, he insisted that “the participation of everyone is required,” particularly to overcome the “constant confrontation and conflict-ridden political rhetoric that have impoverished Venezuelan social life.”
The prelate issued an urgent call to rebuild trust: “It is necessary to restore the population’s trust in institutions such as the National Electoral Council, the Supreme Tribunal of Justice, and other state institutions” in order to reestablish “healthy democratic coexistence.”
The National Electoral Council tallies and announces election results and declared Maduro the winner of the last presidential election despite strong evidence to the contrary.
The amnesty law passed in February benefited 8,616 people. However, that process appears to have stalled since Acting President Delcy Rodríguez announced that it had come to an end.
For the Church, this represented a key opportunity to advance national reconciliation, even though the lawʼs implementation has been inconsistent.
“What was particularly significant was the full liberty of political prisoners, not merely their release,” Zárate said.
“Release would mean that they leave the detention facility, but their activities would still remain restricted; we are speaking of full liberty, that is, the recognition of full freedom for all,” the archbishop explained.
The prelate acknowledged a loss of momentum after initial progress: “At first, there was greater diligence in the implementation of the amnesty law; subsequently, however, there has been something of a delay.”
In light of this, he warned that as long as there remains a Venezuelan “imprisoned for their political ideas or personal opinions, we can hardly rest easy or build a better society in peace.”
Víctor Hugo Quero, a Venezuelan political prisoner who died in custody, is one of many on a long list of citizens who have perished at the hands of the state over more than 25 years of authoritarian socialist rule.
“Doubts therefore remain regarding the whereabouts of many others. At this moment, there is the open question whether those about whom there is no news may have met a similar fate,” he added.
From initial hope to discouragement
Maduro’s removal from power sparked a certain “hopeful expectation” among Venezuelans, he said, yet now there is growing frustration. “There is much talk of investments in oil, of better prices, and of agreements with various companies, but the concrete reality is the average Venezuelan continues to suffer from the same deprivations,” Zárate lamented.
Among these difficulties, he cited “the constant rise in prices, the depreciation of buying power, the inability to access certain services, or the deficiencies within those very services” such as electricity or water supply. It’s a situation that “breeds discouragement.”
The harsh reality of the Venezuelan diaspora
After years of crisis, many who fled the country have been unable to return. “There are more than 8 million Venezuelans outside our country,” the archbishop noted.
The impact of the diaspora is part of families’ daily lives: “There are children who don’t have the opportunity to be close to their parents, and parents who cannot enjoy their children or their grandchildren.”
This also impacts ecclesial life: “The migration of many Venezuelans also leaves parishes without catechists, without their ministers, and without the young people who were part of the youth ministry.”
Economic deterioration further exacerbates this scenario. “The widespread impoverishment of the population — to which the Church has sought to respond through social programs [providing] food and healthcare — also affects the life of the Christian community,” he noted.
Zárate said this reality even limits the Church’s pastoral outreach: “It finds itself weakened in its capacity to carry out its programs and to provide assistance to people.”
The bishops’ priority: ‘Preserving internal unity’
The president of the bishops’ conference stated that one of the episcopate’s constant efforts has been “to preserve internal unity.”
Unity was one of the key issues discussed during the meeting at the Vatican on May 4. The pope, he said, was “very attentive; he is well-informed about the reality in the country.”
The pontiff centered his interest on the Church’s role as an agent of reconciliation: “His questions focused on the role we can play in the reunification of the Venezuelan people and in the internal unity of the Church.”
Zárate emphasized that the credibility of the message depends on the witness: “We could hardly proclaim reunification, reconciliation, or harmonious coexistence if divergences were visible within the Church itself.”
Some things never should have happened
Zárate clarified that the Church’s message of reconciliation to Venezuelan society “is not that forgiving means forgetting.”
“There are situations that never should have happened, and there are people who are responsible,” he pointed out.
Nevertheless, Zárate emphasized that the response cannot be based on vengeance: “We cannot believe that revenge or retaliation will provide the answer. The healing of hearts must be based on the truth.”
This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.
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