Everyday Justice magazine

January 2026

Articles from Mercy:

• • Critical Considerations: Is history repeating itself in Venezuela? (Karen Donahue, RSM)
• • U.S. withdraws from UNFCCC (Marianne Comfort; Institute Justice Team)

Local Justice News & Upcoming Mercy Events

• • Hope in Challenging Times (Daniel Horan, PhD, 6:30 p.m. CT)

Justice Resources & Links

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Critical Considerations

Is history repeating itself in Venezuela?

Karen Donahue, RSM

The Trump administration’s January 3, 2026 attack on Venezuela and the kidnapping of its president and his wife, extraditing them to the United States to face drug trafficking charges, is just the latest chapter in the long history of U.S. intervention in Latin America [a.k.a. Abya Yala]. Beginning with the Monroe Doctrine in 1823, the U.S. has viewed the Western Hemisphere as its exclusive preserve, often thwarting the dreams and aspirations of local populations.

In a recent article published in The Nation magazine, Eric Ross, an organizer, educator, and PhD candidate in the history department at the University of Massachusetts–Amherst, examines the history of U.S./Latin American [Abya Yala] relations and notes that they have been characterized by “immense profits for the few and violence, political upheaval, social dislocation, and economic devastation for the many.” He said that even though movements have challenged U.S. imperial ambitions, “these have repeatedly been forced back into the subordinate position assigned them in a global capitalist order designed to benefit their not so good neighbor.”

Ross goes on to examine three cases of U.S. intervention and the detrimental impacts they have had. They are:

Ross concludes by saying that “independent powers in this hemisphere going their own way were the threat that Washington and Wall Street could never tolerate. It’s the same reason the United States is once again maneuvering toward open conflict in Venezuela. To proceed down such a path will, of course, mean reenacting some of the most catastrophic chapters of U.S. foreign policy.”

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U.S. withdraws from UNFCCC

Marianne Comfort; Institute Justice Team

The U.S. will be even more isolated on the international stage once President Donald Trump’s executive order withdrawing the country from 66 international bodies goes into effect. This is particularly true in regard to global engagement on climate change.

The directive includes a withdrawal from the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, a 34-year-old treaty signed by all countries in the world that provides the foundations for ongoing global negotiations to address the climate crisis. The U.S. Senate unanimously ratified the treaty in 1992. It’s unclear if the president has the authority to unilaterally withdraw the country from a treaty.

The Trump Administration early in its term had announced exiting the Paris climate agreement, and that goes into effect Jan. 20^th. Withdrawal from the global climate treaty will take effect a year after giving formal notice to the United Nations. The U.S. will then be the only country in the world not participating in global efforts to address climate change.

President Trump’s executive order also withdraws the U.S. from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the scientific body that provides regular assessments on climate change and the potential impact of mitigation and adaptation strategies.

Many of the Mercy Justice Team’s Catholic partners have expressed great dismay at the administration’s withdrawal from these two bodies.

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