Donald Trump dramatically escalated pressure on Venezuelan dictator Nicolás Maduro on Wednesday when U.S. forces seized a large Venezuelan oil tanker bound for Communist Cuba. Oil accounts for about 90 percent of Venezuela’s export earnings and 25 percent of its entire gross domestic product. President Trump wants regime change in Venezuela and has reportedly offered to grant Maduro amnesty if he flees the country. Maduro has so far refused.

• The tanker seizure also targets Cuba, a close ally of Venezuela, which sells Venezuelan crude on the black market and sends spies into Venezuela to protect Maduro. President Trump has claimed that the oil tanker was the largest ever seized and warned that “other things” would be coming soon.

Earlier this month, Pope Leo xiv warned against any military incursion into Venezuela. He advised the Trump administration to pursue dialogue or apply economic pressure to force Maduro out of office. Whether or not President Trump is listening to the pope, this is exactly what he is doing now: negotiating with Maduro during a trade seizure.

• Since the Venezuelan Bishops Conference is one of the main centers of opposition to Maduro, the Catholic Church will likely play a large role in regime change.

In the short term, ousting Maduro from office would likely benefit both the U.S. and the Roman Catholic Church. Maduro’s Cartel of the Suns is a major source of drug trafficking into the U.S., which President Trump wants to cut off.

Yet Bible prophecy warns that a pro-Catholic Venezuela will actually be a threat to America.

• In Revelation 17 and 18, God labels the German-led, Vatican-influenced empire currently emerging in Europe as “Babylon the great.” In the corresponding Old Testament prophecies of Isaiah 23 and Ezekiel 27, this empire appears under the name of Tyre, the most powerful trading center of the ancient Mediterranean.

Based on these scriptures, the late Herbert W. Armstrong predicted for decades that the alliance between Europe and South America would grow extremely strong due to Europe’s need for resources, the Roman Catholic religion and the Spanish language. However, this will not be a union of equals: Latin American countries will become vassal states to a Catholic-dominated Holy Roman Empire.

To learn about the strategic and geographic importance of Cuba and Venezuela, read “Preparing to Storm America’s Castle.”