
As the mechanisms of pressure against the propaganda and repressive machinery of the authoritarian regime that has plunged Venezuela into misery begin to weaken, the evidence continues to accumulate. For more than fifteen years, irrefutable proof has been gathered linking this dictatorship to drug trafficking, a business that fuels its structure of corruption and violence. Of course, they deny it, just as they have denied human rights violations, the persecution of dissidents, and the systematic manipulation of democratic processes.
Similarly, they deny their deliberate actions in Catatumbo, a border region where, despite official statements, reports and analyses point to a close relationship between the National Liberation Army (ELN) and the Venezuelan government. While Venezuela’s Minister of Defense, Vladimir Padrino López, has stated that "Venezuela will not serve as a platform for criminal organizations"【1】, experts like Jorge Mantilla argue that "the ELN is now a binational army and a clear instrument of Venezuela to influence Colombia"【2】.
Amid these contradictions, Nicolás Maduro has announced "Operation Lightning of Catatumbo," a joint military action with Colombia that, according to the official narrative, aims to combat illegal groups and drug traffickers【3】. However, this strategy raises more doubts than certainties, as it takes place in a context where the regime has been accused of facilitating the very groups it claims to be fighting. But the truth is undeniable: the regime has lost all legitimacy, and its survival is sustained solely through fear and the weapons of the nation.
A Democracy Built on Fraud and Oppression
The Carter Center, with its impeccable observation mission, has confirmed what we already knew: fraud is the only pillar sustaining an illegitimate government. But this is not the final battle. As a Reformed theologian, I have dedicated myself to studying the patterns of totalitarian regimes and have observed how they attempt to whitewash their image with democratic rhetoric while subjecting their people to repressive measures.
In Venezuela, we have not witnessed such a ferocious level of persecution since the days of Pérez Jiménez; all branches of government have been co-opted and subordinated to the regime's oppressive apparatus.
There is no free press.There is no justice.There is no right to dissent.
The common citizen cries out for a free and democratic government, a country where they can develop their potential, compete in a globalized world, and rebuild their lives without fear. For many, migration has been the only option. More than seven million Venezuelans have left the country in the past fifteen years—not by choice, but out of necessity. However, the reality of migration is not easy. After years of receiving Venezuelan migrants, many host countries have begun closing their doors. This is not a sustainable path. The true solution is not migration: it is resistance.
Venezuela was once a refuge for thousands of immigrants. How did we become a wandering people? Because we allowed corruption to sow despair. Because discontent was exploited by those who sought absolute power. Because the people, in their righteous indignation, used their vote as punishment, unaware that they were handing over their destiny to criminals.
Today, many of those who once supported the regime have paid the highest price: many are dead, some live in exile, others have been persecuted and silenced, and others have been forgotten, consumed by the very monster they helped create, while our children grow up oppressed and broken under the weight of repression.
If We Cannot Trust the Vote, Nor the Opposition, Nor the Streets—What Do We Have Left?
We have prayer.
I want to emphasize this: prayer is not an act of passivity. It is a powerful weapon. Not a lukewarm or ritualistic prayer, but a fervent cry in the Spirit, a supplication with tears and humility. When political strategies fail, when repression intensifies, when everything seems lost, that is the moment to lift a persistent and consistent cry before God.
The regime knows this. That is why they are devising new mechanisms of repression against churches, seeking to silence believers. They want a tamed faith, a powerless religion, a voiceless Christianity.
But the Church has never been silenced by force.
During the greatest persecutions in history, Christianity has flourished with even greater strength. History bears witness: Rome could not destroy the faith of the early Christians, the Soviet Union failed to eradicate the underground church, and the Venezuelan regime will not silence the cry of God’s people.
A Call to Spiritual Resistance
Brother in faith, this is the time to take up our spiritual weapons.
They are not carnal, but mighty through God to destroy strongholds.
Now is the time to intercede, cry out for justice, and plead for our nation's restoration.
Resistance is not just political. It is spiritual.And in Christ, victory is certain.
Bibliografia
Infobae. (2025). Venezuela aseguró que no sirve como plataforma para criminales: este es el acuerdo con Colombia por la crisis en el Catatumbo. Recuperado de: Infobae
BBC Mundo. (2025). El ELN, la guerrilla binacional y la influencia de Venezuela en Colombia. Recuperado de: BBC
La República. (2025). Venezuela anunció acciones en conjunto con Colombia bajo la “Operación Relámpago del Catatumbo”. Recuperado de: La República
Arendt, Hannah. Eichmann en Jerusalén: Un estudio sobre la banalidad del mal. Lumen, 1999.
Bonhoeffer, Dietrich. Ética. Editorial Trotta, 2000.
Weber, Max. Economía y sociedad. Fondo de Cultura Económica, 1964.
Schaeffer, Francis A. Muerte en la ciudad. Inter-Varsity Press, 1968.
Hubbard, Robert. Reyes, majestad y mujeres (Ester 1-2). Denver Seminary, 1995.
Monroy Rueda, Francisco Javier. La formación ética cristiana. Reflexiones Teológicas, 2013.
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