Bill and I were eager to reach the Dominican Republic (DR) this past January so that we could learn about its newspapers’ views of President Donald Trump taking captive Venezuela’s self-asserted President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores. Both the Dominican Republic and the coast of Venezuela share a significant African-Caribbean and Taino heritage, thus, their people have been friends for many years. Every January we hear a Venezuelan celebration down the street near us in Santo Domingo, although its propaganda has been heavily communistic. January 26. 2026 was no different, with protests on behalf of Maduro and Flores. But we wondered, what will Dominicans think of Donald Trump’s action this January 2026?
The Dominican President Luis Abinader announced that the DR never recognized Maduro’s presidency since he and his party had been voted out yet they refused to leave.[1] The newspaper Diario Libre explained that the Venezuelans were hesitant to parade publicly, fearful of reprisal from the Chavistas (named after Hugo Chávez),[2] but privately some were jubilant and others were uncertain about their future in the light of Trump’s actions.[3] Certainly, as their loved ones were slowly released from political prisons, they were very happy.[4] Many of the Venezuelans in the Dominican Republic were pleased that the dictator Maduro was finally restrained. News articles listed the many terrorist and criminal activities of Maduro, such as, systematically using the Venezuelan airports, diplomacy, armed forces, and family structures to convert the country into a platform for delivery of cocaine to the United States. He is reported as promoting narco-terrorism, allied with armed groups and criminal organizations described as terrorists. Not only was there the drug trade, but also the undermining of national security, armed violence, and transnational threats.[5] From having belonged to one of the richest Latin American nations,[6] Venezuelans have dropped to the lowest minimum salary for its workers in all of South America and the Caribbean, to the equivalent of .44 cents US per month![7] President Maduro controlled all the powers of the state and systematically repressed all political opposition. Venezuelans in the United States, for example, Adriano Espaillat, member of the United States Congress (House of Representatives and President of the Hispanic Caucus of Congress), were also celebrating the removal of Maduro and his wife, but they were fearful of the precedent President Trump had set: making a significant decision without the awareness and approval of Congress, even though it was largely Republican. Congressman Espaillat adds that the United States does not allow armed military conflict without constitutional control. He rejects categorically the idea that the United States can or should govern Venezuela. Rather, he explains. “The Venezuelan community should govern Venezuela. Our role should be to accompany, facilitate diplomatic solutions, strengthen the international multilateral pressure and enable a democratic transition led by the Venezuelans themselves.” (“El pueblo venezolano debe gobernar Venezuela. Nuestro rol debe ser el de acompañar, facilitar soluciones diplomáticas, fortalecer la presión internacional multilateral y apoyar una transición democrática liderada por los propios venezolanos”).[8] The questions implicit in this precedent are: What is to keep the United States from interfering in every smaller country in each one’s internal affairs? The Venezuelans already have had elections in the past and the 30-day re-elections are crucial. Also, why must the United States demand the Venezuelans only purchase US goods and the USA only purchase Venezuelan oil?[9] Can we remove a dictator in a dictatorial fashion? Or, must we model and enlist community with those we are attempting to free? One step forward by President Trump is his public affirmation of two women leaders, Delcy Rodriquez and Maria Corina Machado.[10] In these public statements, he sends a positive message for Venezuelan rule and supports the critical role of wise female leadership (like Judge and Prophet Deborah).
As Christians we want to promote justice and subdue wrongdoing, but our preferred Christian model of leadership is not one that is dictatorial. Jesus did not favor dictatorial leadership at any level, as he said to brothers James and John, sons of Zebedee: “The ones being recognized as ruling over the Gentiles overpower (katakurieuō) them and their great ones exercise authority over (katechousiazō) them, but not thus among you….” Jesus’s “great” leadership was instead serving people, as Jesus did, when he came to give his life as a ransom for many (Mark 10:42-45). The key preposition to avoid is kata, “down” or “against.” We do not want to treat others as “below” us.[11]
The Apostle Paul also explained to the Corinthians that he did not lead like the overpowering “superapostles,” who showed their pseudo-strength by enslaving, consuming, taking advantage of, being haughty, and hitting others (2 Cor 11:20). These false apostles were deceitful, boasting in the labors of others, modeled after Satan, the illusory glorious but fallen angel (2 Cor 10:13-15; 11:3, 13-15). Rather, Paul modeled his and his coworkers’ leadership after the gentleness and humility of Christ (2 Cor 10:1). As Jesus was a ransom for many, Paul, out of love for those he served, suffered as well on behalf of his beloved believers and for Christ’s sake by enduring insults, hardships, and persecutions (2 Cor 11:23-28, 32-33; 12:10). He used his authority to build people up so that they would become pleasing to Christ (2 Cor 10:5, 8; 11:2; 12:19; 13:10). Paul and his coworker’s ministries were not done for financial gain, instead they were honest, fair, and prayerful (2 Cor 11:7-9; 12:13-18; 13:1, 7-8). The foundation of their service was love (2 Cor 11:11). It might appear to skeptics to be “weak” (2 Cor 10:1; 11:21, 29-30; 12:10; 13:9). But, as, Christ “was crucified in weakness, however, he lives out of the power of God; for also we ourselves are weak in him, but we will live with him out of the power of God for you” (2 Cor 13:4).
When I first finished college, I worked as a community organizer in Plainfield, New Jersey, helping Spanish-speaking people who needed assistance. They were limited because they did not know English sufficiently well and, being new to the United States, did not understand how to be well treated by others in the United States. The director of Community-Action Plainfield, Marcellus Smith, taught the staff how to help people by empowering them. Thus, we were to find them venues whereby they could become self-sufficient. What I learned helped me throughout my life and work because like Jesus and the Apostle Paul our goal was to build people up, not use people for our own financial gain, but rather serve them humbly and honestly and fairly. We did not try to rule over them but to rule with and for them and help them to learn to rule wisely.
In this era of perplexing actions and models, let us remember this basic principle: truly “strong” and “great” leadership is to work together with the people involved for a better future for them.
Aída
[1] “La República Dominicana nunca reconoció la legitimidad democrática del régimen de Maduro…El drama venezolano no es de un líder caído en desgracia, sino el de un país exhausto, empobrecido y fragmentado tras más de dos décadas de chavismo.” Editorial: La posición dominicana,” Día Libre (6 de enero 2026): 11. In a survey, Diario Libre discovered that 86.36% of its readers favored the capture of Nicolás Maduro; while 13.63% did not (11).
[2] “Chavismo” began in 1999 (“el chavismo cumple 27 años,” Diario Libre (3 de febrero 2026): 4.
[3] Melvin Gómez, “Delcy Rodriquez asume en Venezuela, ordena estado de excepción y arrestos,” Diario Libre (6 de enero 2026): 3.
[4] “Venezuela libera ‘número importante’ de presos por razones políticas,” Diario Libre (9 de enero 2026): 13.
[5] “De Noriega a Maduro: cuando el poder termina ante un tribunal de EE. UU.,” Diario Libre (6 de enero 2026): 5.
[6] The current president Delcy Rodriquez affirmed that Venezuela has the greatest amount of oil reserves in the world and the greatest amount of reserves of gas in this hemisphere” (“Venezuela tiene condiciones de ser una potencia petrolera,” El Dia (26 de enero 2026): 14. In 2023, China was its greatest purchaser of crude oil (68%); the U.S. was second (23%), and Spain was third (4%).
[7] “Trabajadores dominicanos entre los diez del área con el mayor salario mínimo,” Diario Libre (21 de enero 2026): 4. Dominican Republic has the tenth highest minimum wage in Latin America and the Caribbean at approximately $476/month.
[8] Adriano Espallat, “Opinion: Apoyar a Venezuela respetando la constitución de Estados Unidos,” (6 de enero 2026): 4.
[9] “EE.UU. podría gobernar Venezuela y extraer su petróleo durante años,” Diario Libre (9 de enero 2026): 14.
[10] “Trump contempla a Maria Corina en el futuro de Venezuela,” Diario Libre (21 de enero 2026), 12. Mexico also has a female president: Claudia Sheinbaum (“Mexico ayudará a Cuba con petróleo tras el corte venezolano,” Diario Libre (20 de enero 2026), 12. Violeta Chamarro is the first female democratically elected in Latin America (1990, Nicaragua); Laura Fernández Delgado is the second woman elected as president of Costa Rica (2026). Of course, Isabel Perón became “president” after her husband died in 1974 in Argentina. The Dominican Republic has a well-loved female vice-president, Raquel Peña. Other women have been presidents: Lidia Gueiler in Bolivia (1979), Mireya Moscoso in Panama (1999), Michelle Bachelet in Chile (2006, 2014), Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner in Argentina (2007), Laura Chinchilla in Costa Rica (2010), Dilma Rousseff in Brazil (2011), Xiomara Castro in Honduras (2022), and Dina Boluarte in Peru (2022). “Mujeres en la presidencia: avances, continuidades y retos que persisten,” Diario Libre (3 de febrero 2026): 12. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_female_presidents_in_Latin_America
[11] All translations from the Greek New Testament and from the Spanish are by the author. See further on Jesus’s style of leadership Aída Besançon Spencer in “Biblical Equity and the Meaning of Servant Leadership” in The Quest for Gender Equity in Leadership: Biblical Teachings on Gender Equity and Illustrations of Transformation in Africa, edited by Keumju Jewel Hyun and Diphus C. Chemorion, House of Prisca and Aquila Series (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2016), 109-122; Aída Besançon Spencer and William David Spencer, “An Overview of the New Testament Teachings on Christian Egalitarian Leadership,” in Christian Egalitarian Leadership: Empowering the Whole Church according to the Scriptures, House of Prisca and Aquila Series (Eugene, OR: Wipf and Stock, 2020), 3-25; Aída Besançon Spencer, 2 Corinthians, The People’s Bible Commentary (Abindon, UK: The Bible Reading Fellowship, 2001).
