Chancellor Gil to Pope Leo XIV: Venezuela is not and has not been a drug trafficking state

Published at: 10/01/2026 11:06 AM

The Bolivarian Government of the Republic of Venezuela, through the foreign minister, Yván Gil, rejected on Saturday the recent statements of Pope Leo XIV, who pointed out that “among the causes of the Venezuelan crisis is, without a doubt, drug trafficking.”

Gil said that Venezuela has deep respect for the Holy Father and his spiritual authority, but that the country categorically rejected the narrative that links the country to drug trafficking.

“Venezuela is not and has not been a drug trafficking state. That narrative has been disbanded by the facts and was even more exposed after the illegitimate, illegal and cruel attack of which we were victims, which left more than a hundred innocent civilians and soldiers dead, and culminated in the kidnapping of President Nicolás Maduro and First Lady Cilia Flores, in violation of their personal immunity and international law, all in the unveiled oil control plan,” said Gil.

Gil stressed that the Venezuelan people, profoundly Catholic, pray every day for peace, but they work, produce and defend the country's stability together with the Bolivarian Government, while other external actors pursue energy interests and resort to violence. “Our people do not give up, they sow hope and defend their sovereignty with dignity,” he added.

The Foreign Minister stressed that Venezuela has been the victim of an international campaign that seeks to justify military and economic aggressions with false arguments. “The truth is that our country builds and works for peace, while others try to impose narratives that do not correspond to reality,” he said.

He invited the Pope to learn more about the reality of the country “and to accompany his Venezuelan faithful for the truth, defending sovereignty, international law and the dignity of peoples, in coherence with Christian values of justice, peace and fraternity.”

Mazo News Team