Pax Christi Australia statement on US invasion of Venezuela

Pax Christ Australia, part of Pax Christi International, condemns the US Administration and the US military for its unilateral aggression against Venezuela following continued threats in its region and elsewhere towards countries not aligned to its political vision. The same playbook of lies, disinformation and misinformation that destroyed Iraq, Libya, Afghanistan, as well as decades of coups across Asia, Africa and Latin America is being repeated. We call all people of good will to heed the recent call of Pope Leo XIV for a nonviolence that disarms our hearts and our world. The USA has intervened militarily and forced regime change in the region many times since 1900.

Pax Christi Australia is deeply concerned that this aggressive and terrorist action against Venezuela could become a blueprint for further military actions in Mexico, Colombia, Cuba and also Greenland, and for other powerful nations to behave in a similar way. This aggressive action serves as a warning that international law, already fragile, is selectively enforced and being pushed aside. The diminishment of international and humanitarian law will lead to a world without laws and further chaos as more states fail amid violence by state and non-state actors. We disagree with the notion of 'peace through strength.' Peace can never be achieved by violence. Violence does not generate peace. It generates violence.

International human rights advocates, such as Francesca Albanese, have had sanctions and travel restrictions imposed on them for criticising US policy. These are warnings that are meant to intimidate, isolate and silence dissent. Legitimate critics have seen their insurance cancelled and their travel restricted after criticizing U.S. policy. Palestinian officials have been barred from entering the United States altogether. These are not measures aimed at resolving conflict or protecting civilians. They are warnings-meant to intimidate, isolate, and silence. When the US acts illegally, its allies should resist rather than align themselves with these actions. Otherwise, the outcome is moral paralysis. Impunity cannot be upheld.

Pax Christi Australia is aware of criminal charges against Venezuela's president, Nicolás Maduro, but also acknowledges that international legal experts have disputed many of these charges. However, the shortcomings of a government provide no legal basis for a foreign government to attempt to overthrow it. Charges should be addressed in the right arenas, but unilateral indictments issued outside international courts do not constitute justice. They are punishment without trial. They are collective penalties imposed on civilian populations who have no power over the decisions being made in their name.

To conflate a ceasefire with peace, domination with stability, and submission with order is indefensible. By discarding the rules that it helped to create, the 'rules-based order' becomes a fiction that serves the interests of one nation. This is neither peace nor justice. The brutal lesson here is that the law has no meaning and sheer might becomes rationale.

Pax Christi Australia, as a section of Pax Christi International with consultative status at the United Nation calls on the global community to demand compliance with international law, the end of military actions by the USA and other nations, and that religious leaders and people of goodwill heed Pope Leo XIV's call for a 'disarmed and disarming' peace that upholds international order.

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Pax Christi Australia: https://paxchristi.org.au/