WRITING.-The Venezuelan people are not alone, as the Archbishop of Panama, José Domingo Ulloa Mendieta, made clear when calling for a Day of Prayer for Venezuela during the televised mass this Sunday, August 4.
“Know, Venezuelan brothers and sisters, who are in your country and those who have chosen Panama as their home, you are not alone. We pray that truth and transparency prevail in these times of darkness and uncertainty,” said Archbishop Ulloa, after assuring that the Day of Prayer is “a sign of solidarity with the Church and the Venezuelan people, and because we are sure that it is the powerful weapon that can transform reality, no matter how complicated it may be.”
Monsignor Ulloa said that we should not allow Venezuelans who defend the truth to be isolated and alone, “let us lend a hand so that they feel our solidarity and closeness; let it not be just a theoretical gesture, but a truth that shakes and makes a difference.”
The Archdiocese of Panama held a Day of Prayer for Venezuela this Sunday, August 4, in which we implored God “that violence be replaced by peace and that the will of the people placed in the ballot boxes be recognized and assumed by all,” concluded Archbishop Ulloa.
Migratory crisis
Given the political situation in Venezuela, Panama is preparing to face a greater flow of migrants from the South American countrywhich adds more pressure to the Darien Jungle route and the solutions agreed with the United States.
More Venezuelans are expected to arrive due to the uncertainty generated by the non-recognition of the opposition’s claim that, with documents in hand, endorses Edmundo González Urrutia as President of the Republic.
Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino has predicted an increase in the number of Venezuelan migrants crossing the Panamanian Darién jungle on their way to the United States, following the electoral fraud plotted by the Nicolás Maduro regime after losing the presidential elections in which Edmundo González Urrutia was elected.
So far this year, more than 200,000 people have made this journey, two-thirds of whom were Venezuelan, according to official Panamanian figures referred to by the president of that country.
“I believe, and I hope I am wrong, that the flow of Venezuelans will increase for obvious reasons. We must also make the appropriate decisions to safeguard their lives, their integrity and to give expedited passage to people who want to emigrate to the United States,” said Mulino, who confirmed that he does not plan to repatriate anyone by force.
