Global Ministries

December 6, 2020 Report

1. Introduction

Convened by the Evangelical Pentecostal Union of Venezuela (UEPV) and assisted by the Venezuelan Human Rights Organization, SURES, seven representatives of churches and ecumenical organizations from Canada, the United States, Latin America, and the Caribbean had the opportunity to provide virtual accompaniment to the Venezuelan Legislative Elections,  held on December 6, 2020.

My name is María Lucrecia Hernández, director of the human rights organization, SURES in Venezuela.  An organization dedicated to the promotion, defense, and monitoring of human rights in our country.  We are an interdisciplinary team of psychologists, lawyers, economists, internationalists, and social workers who have been working on human rights issues for more than 25 years in Venezuela.  We are united by the defense of human rights for a critical, emancipatory vision against hegemonic and the struggle and defense for populations in conditions of greater vulnerability in our country.

Written by: Exeario Sosa-Ocanto

Fraternal greetings, my name is Exeario Sosa-Ocanto.  I am a Bishop of the National Council of the Evangelical Pentecostal Union of Venezuela.  I am also a political scientist and would like to share the following analysis and words.

Seven representatives of U.S. Canada, Latin America, and the Caribbean churches integrate an international ecumenical delegation to observe virtually the Legislative Elections of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, to be held on Sunday, December 6, 2020.  Valdir Franca and Christine Neufeldt, Area Coordinators for Latin America and the Caribbean for the Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A and the United Church in Canada, joined efforts with Catherine Nichols and Angel Luis Rivera-Agosto, from Global Ministries, representing four U.S. and Canada denominations in the virtual observation. From Latin America and the Caribbean, Medardo Gómez from the Salvadorian Lutheran Synod, Carola Tron from the Evangelical Waldensian Church of River Plate, and Lorenzo Mota King from the Social Services of Dominican Churches also participate in the group as international observers.  The initiative responds to the call made by The Evangelical Pentecostal Union of Venezuela, our Global Ministries' Partner in the country, to accompany them in that process. SURES, a Venezuelan organization for the defense of Human Rights in the country, guides the delegation into a whole new method of being a witness for peace, justice, and reconciliation in Venezuela's historical moment.

In 1992, the United Nations declared a day to celebrate indigenous peoples called the International Day of Indigenous Peoples. During President Hugo Chávez's administration in Venezuela, October 12 was established as the "Day of Indigenous Resistance." This replaced the traditionally given names to the holiday. The decision was endorsed in the constitutional text. The Venezuelan Constitution recognizes in its articles the right of indigenous peoples to "maintain and develop their ethnic and cultural identity, worldview, values, spirituality and their sacred places and places of worship." 

Missed the Venezuela Conference and want to review some of the highlights? You're in luck! Below you'll find some videos from the conference. For more information on the issues discussed, we recommend reading this article. After you've watched some of these videos and/or read the article, please take some time to send a message to your members of Congress. 

Note: To see some of the video highlights of the Venezuela Conference, please click here.

Contact your members of Congress about this issue now!

The Latin America and the Caribbean Office confirmed a suspicion shared by the leadership of the Evangelical Pentecostal Union of Venezuela.  A U.S.-sponsored military aggression against Venezuela could be real before the U.S. presidential election on November 3, 2020.   Admiral Remigio Ceballos, chief of the strategic, operational command of the Bolivarian National Armed Force (FANB), said that "The international intelligence agencies allied to Venezuela inform us that Colombia is preparing aggression, and the FANB will respond with force and forcefulness to any aggression against the sovereignty and independence of Venezuela, under the command of our Commander in Chief Nicolas Maduro Moros." "We are in the presence of a Colombian government that has attacked Venezuela the most in all our history," he added. Ceballos also wrote on Twitter: During the year 2000, Plan Colombia was installed with 7 U.S. military bases in that country "to prepare its aggression against our nation and the entire region." Days before, Samuel Moncada, Venezuela's ambassador to the U.N., denounced, "Washington's propaganda bodies already promote the invading multinational force in Venezuela. ...It must be with military occupation but without the visible presence of the United States in the front line. It is the armies of Colombia and Central America that will do the dirty work." In another message, Moncada pointed out that the "final phase" of aggression against Venezuela, whose campaign of maximum pressure is already underway, is moving to the military dimension. "They are looking for the 'October surprise.' In Venezuela, we must prepare ourselves for the provocation in the making." See the link: https://www.resumen-english.org/2020/08/venezuela-aggression-in-october/

I have been getting recently different messages directly from Venezuela.  Some of them expressed concerns and uncertainties about the future. Most of these messages stressed and showed the tension between resistance and hope.  My understanding is that there is a deep conviction, primarily among pastors and lay leaders, that affirms a faith that provides a horizon of hope for the future.

More than 40 churches and ecumenical organizations from Latin America and the Caribbean signed a letter regarding the actual situation in Venezuela.  They based their message on recent events regarding the deployment of military presence on the Venezuelan coast and the imposition of economic measures against that country. This declaration followed and supported the one made by the National Council of Churches in the U.S. on similar issues, and made a call to churches around the world, as well as all people of goodwill, to increase prayers and acts of peace, justice, and reconciliation for the people of Venezuela.  The Global Ministries' Latin America and Caribbean Office accompanied the process as Partners and other fellow organizations in the continent submitted signatures into the said letter.

In the early hours of May 3, 2020, the Venezuelan Armed Force and the National Bolivarian Police repelled the incursion of a group of armed mercenaries into the coastal state of La Guaira.  The mercenaries, travelled from Colombia in speedboats and were planning, together with local accomplices, to initiate military operations aimed at government institutions and State officials, according to testimony given by those captured.