By Joshua McElwee
ABOARD THE PAPAL FLIGHT, Dec 2 (Reuters) – Pope Leo urged U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday not to try to oust Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro using military force.
Leo, the first U.S. pope, said it would be better to attempt dialogue or impose economic pressure on Venezuela if Washington wants to pursue change there.
The Trump administration has been weighing options to combat what it has portrayed as Maduro’s role in supplying illegal drugs that have killed Americans. The socialist Venezuelan president has denied having any links to the illegal drug trade.
Asked during a news conference about Trump’s threats to remove Maduro by force, Leo said: “It is better to search for ways of dialogue, or perhaps pressure, including economic pressure”.
The pope, speaking as he flew home from a visit to Turkey and Lebanon, his first overseas trip, added that Washington should search for other ways to achieve change “if that is what they want to do in the United States”.
Reuters reported last month that options under U.S. consideration include an attempt to overthrow the Venezuelan leader, and that the U.S. military is poised for a new phase of operations after a massive military buildup in the Caribbean and nearly three months of strikes on suspected drug trafficking boats off Venezuela’s coast.
Leo, answering a journalist’s question, also said the signals coming from the Trump administration about its policy toward Venezuela were unclear.
“On one hand, it seems there was a call between the two presidents,” said the pope, referring to a phone call that Trump had with Maduro last month.
“On the other hand, there is the danger, there is the possibility there will be some activity, some (military) operation.”
“The voices that come from the United States, they change with a certain frequency,” added Leo.
The pope, elected in May and originally from Chicago, is familiar with Latin America because he spent long years as a cleric in Peru.
(Reporting by Joshua McElweeEditing by Frances Kerry)
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