What Christians Need to Know about Trump's Plans for Venezuela
General Dan Caine, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said in a special report about the U.S. military's mission in Venezuela that “Operation Absolute Resolve” was intended to be an “apprehension operation in Caracas, Venezuela to bring to justice two indicted persons, Nicolás and Cilia Maduro,” according to ABC News.
The operation took place over the course of the first weekend in January, obtaining the Maduros and high tailing it out of the country in just under 3 hours.
Rubio Declares U.S. at War with ‘Drug Trafficking Organizations,’ not Venezuela
Secretary of State Marco Rubio told NBC News during an interview that the U.S. is not at war with Venezuela, but that the U.S. is at war with “drug trafficking organizations.”
He also stated that, “We are enforcing American laws with regard to oil sanctions. We have sanction entities. We go to court, we get a warrant, and seize those boats with oil. And that will continue. We will continue to reserve the right to take strikes against the drug boats that are bringing drugs toward the United States, [and] that are being operated by the transnational criminal organizations, including the cartel. Of course, the leader of the cartel is now in U.S. custody, and facing U.S. Justice in the Southern District of New York, and that’s Nicolás Maduro. We made big progress in that regard.”
When asked the question of who is running Venezuela right now, Rubio reframed it on why the U.S. is involved with Venezuela, saying that this administration wants to see changes in Venezuela, especially changes that are going to be in the best interest of the United States, and create stability in the region.
Rubio noted that, “We are not going to be able to allow, in our hemisphere, a country that becomes a crossroads for the activities of all of our adversaries around the world…we can’t have a country where the people in charge of its military and in charge of its police are openly cooperating with drug trafficking organizations.”
He further stated that “these things are a direct threat to the United States,” and that the U.S. would use every element available to it to ensure its safety.
He added that the U. S. Coast Guard would be assisted with carrying out “the law enforcement function” of ensuring sanctions are enforced as needed.
Trump Confirms U.S. Not at War with Venezuela
The Trump administration is also working with Venezuelan Vice President Delcy Rodríguez, who has presently taken over as Venezuela’s new leader since the capture of Maduro, according to Fox News.
Trump has said that Venezuela will not be having elections for new leadership in the near future, and that it could be as long as 18 months, though he hopes to see that happen sooner.
“We have to fix the country first. You can’t have an election. There’s no way the people could even vote,” Trump told NBC News.
He also confirmed that the U.S. is not at war with Venezuela, but that, “We’re at war with people that sell drugs. We’re at war with people that empty their prisons into our country and empty their drug addicts and empty their mental institutions into our country.”
He also specified that Secretary of State Marco Rubio, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, Deputy White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller, and Vice President JD Vance would be assisting Rodríguez as the country gets rebuilt.
A Rasmussen poll found that 48 percent of likely U.S. voters approve of the U.S. seizing Venezuelan oil tankers, 40 percent disapprove, and 12 percent are unsure.
What Christian Leaders are Saying about Venezuela
Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council released a statement in January in which he was calling on all Christians to pray for Venezuela, and especially pray for Venezuelan Christians.
“Nearly 30 percent of Venezuelans reportedly identify as evangelical Christians, and many in the body of Christ there have endured oppression, threats, and severe restrictions on sharing the gospel and even caring for the poor in the name of Jesus,” said Perkins.
“For now, the future is uncertain. Doors may have just opened for greater religious freedom and flourishing -- or this event could bring fresh dangers and instability,” he added.
He specifically encouraged Christians to pray for the Trump administration to act with wisdom, discernment, understanding, and accountability, as well as for the leaders in other countries, that there would be peace, and that God would use this situation as a springboard for revival.
Many Venezuelans have fled to south Florida since 2014, and so these were celebrating in the streets at the capture of Maduro, according to The National Herald.
“As far as for those who are here in this country [of America] that have lost their temporary protective status, they’re anxious about returning unless there is a real change of the political and social situation in the country [of Venezuela],” Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski told the AP in a phone interview referenced by The National Herald.
“There have been, over the years, great tensions between the Maduro and Chavez regimes with the Catholic Church,” Wenski said, referring to Maduro’s predecessor, Hugo Chávez. “And still, in Venezuela, the church is perhaps the only institution that is independent of the government, that can speak quite courageously about the situation in the country.”
“I think that the church should continue to speak up for democracy, but at the same time be patient, to be calm,” said Wenski. “The church is always promoting reconciliation and certainly given the polarization in Venezuela over these years … the church has to be a voice urging reconciliation between the different factions and the different political opinions or political parties in the country.”
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What Christians Should Know About Venezuela’s Oil Industry and U.S. Involvement
Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Ian Maule/Stringer
Originally published January 12, 2026.
