KAIROS statement on U.S. attacks on Venezuela
KAIROS joins partners in Latin America, civil society groups, the World Council of Churches and churches in Canada in strongly condemning recent U.S. military attacks on Venezuela. We call for respect for international law, the sovereignty of states and the peaceful resolution of conflict.
We also acknowledge the situation’s complexity. For decades, Venezuelans have endured gross human rights violations and economic hardships from authoritarian regimes, including from Nicolás Maduro whose presidency was viewed by many, including Canada, as illegitimate. The world has failed Venezuela for far too long. Yet violent and militarized intervention is not a solution for lasting peace. Actions driven by imperial power and unilateral force only deepen injustice and undermine the possibility of a just and sustainable future.
We echo the World Council of Churches’ call for “the resolution of disputes through dialogue and diplomacy rather than by armed violence,” and urge the United Nations and the Organization of American States to take swift action to ensure all members uphold their respective charters and conventions. We call on the Government of Canada to do the same.
Grounded in the teachings and witness of the KAIROS Indigenous Rights Circle, we affirm that Nation-to-Nation relationships are not limited to governments alone. They are lived and practiced through actions of mutual respect, relational accountability and shared responsibility. Nation-to-Nation is expressed in how we engage one another, how we create peace and how we choose dialogue over domination and violence.
Being Nation-to-Nation means being present together on the Land and the Earth—living together, building together and honouring all our relations. From Turtle Island to Latin America and beyond, peace rooted in justice, respect for sovereignty and right relationship with one another and Creation must guide our collective actions and commitments. Nation-to-Nation relationship demands solidarity across borders, especially with those most impacted by violence. These struggles are not isolated. They are shaped by the same systems that privilege power over relationship and extraction over care.
This reality is clearly named by our long-standing partner, Organización Femenina Popular (OFP), a grassroots women’s organization in Colombia that for more than 53 years has defended life, territory, and peace. OFP states:
“We stand in solidarity with the Venezuelan people, and especially with the women who were undoubtedly victims of aggression by a foreign country whose purpose, as its president has stated repeatedly, is to seize the natural resources that belong to the people of Venezuela.”
In November 2025, a civil society letter to Canadian officials from the Americas Policy Group (APG) and Common Frontiers, of which KAIROS is a member, warned against the United States’ unlawful strikes against maritime vessels as violation of international law and urged Canada to halt the sharing of intelligence with the U.S. through Operation CARIBBE and the export of military goods used in US bombing of civilian vessels off the coast of Venezuela. No response to these letters has been received to date.
Today, KAIROS joins members of the APG in calling on Canada to act in accordance with a Nation-to-Nation ethic in its foreign policy – one grounded in respect for sovereignty, the rule of law and multilateral cooperation. Canada must work alongside countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, not in alignment with militarized intervention, but in support of peacebuilding, dialogue and accountability. As Amnesty International has warned, U.S. military attacks on Venezuela “signal an international system run by military force, threats and intimidation, and they increase the risks of copycat actions by others.” Such a system erodes trust between nations and deepens global insecurity. It stands in direct opposition to relationships built on mutual respect and shared responsibility.
Partner statements
World Council of Churches:
https://oikoumene.org/…/docu…/wcc-statement-on-venezuela
Common Frontiers and the Americas Policy Group:
https://commonfrontiers.ca/canadian-organizations-call-on…
Americas Policy Group
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/14RH7Hjgx7W
United Church of Canada
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1AHTRqqtVu
Organizacion Femenina Popular (OFP), Colombia
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1FSrgHDefC
Movimiento Social de Mujeres contra la Guerra y por la Paz
https://www.facebook.com/share/p/1NXJLco3vC
Amnesty International
https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/global-amnesty-international-raises-human-rights-concerns-following-u-s-military-action-in-venezuela
