Caritas Internationalis pleads for suspension of sanctions against Venezuela amid tragic pandemic

During a press conference held in the Vatican, Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis Aloysius John urged the international community to “remove economic sanctions from Iran, Lebanon, Syria, Libya, and Venezuela so that aid to the affected population can be guaranteed and Caritas, through the Church, can continue to play its role of support for the poor and most vulnerable.” About these statements, Minister of People’s Power for Foreign Affairs Jorge Arreaza, shared the following message on his Twitter account @jaarreaza: “At the press conference on the action of the Church in the face of #Covid_19 held in the Holy See,  , Secretary General of Caritas Internationalis Aloysius John called for the suspension of sanctions against Venezuela and other countries as a measure of care for the peoples.” At the press conference on “COVID-19, food crisis and integral ecology: the action of the Church,” the religious organization also urged to wipe off the debt of the world’s poorest countries or at least cancel the interest they have to pay in 2020. Likewise, Caritas called on the international community to continue to donate aid to countries in need and not to divert it for other purposes. Caritas Internationalis made this appeal “in this dramatic moment in which the whole of humanity must be united in solidarity before this tragic pandemic.” Since 2014, more than 300 unilateral coercive measures have been adopted by the U.S. government to undermine Venezuela’s economy and the human rights of the Venezuelan people.