For several decades, the penetration of evangelical cults in Latin America has developed, slowly at its beginnings, but accelerated over the years.
The reasons are varied, including the discrediting of the Catholic Church, which has always been the predominant religion in the region.
Another is the intentionality of the American politico-religious “establishment”, which saw its particular form of “evangelization” as another form of domination.
“ Evangelizing ” policies around Trump
For a long time this progress had limited, albeit increasing, success, taking advantage of the loopholes left by the backward and uncompromising attitude of much of the Catholic hierarchy.
However, in recent years an unthinkable alliance between sectors of Israeli Zionism and evangelical leaders has given rise to an initiative that, when Trump assumed the presidency of the United States in 2016, had strong and explicit, albeit quiet, support. , white people. House.
According to the Transnationals of Faith journalistic project – led by Columbia Journalism Investigations (CJI), in collaboration with a network of 16 recognized media outlets in Latin America -, since the start of the administration of Donald Trump, its vice-president, Mike Pence, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, both evangelical Christians, were the main promoters, ideologues and developers of a plan for Latin America.
This project was designed from the new White House Faith and Opportunity Office, created by Trump at the start of his tenure.
His main ally, also ideologue and strategy executor, is evangelical pastor Ralph Drollinger, director of Capitol Ministries, a religious Bible study organization sponsored by the Trump White House.
According to the aforementioned survey, its job is to “evangelize” important political leaders, especially in so-called third world countries, with a focus on Latin America, with the aim of having them legislate according to biblical principles.
This strategy coincides with the geopolitics in relation to Latin America of the most radicalized sectors of Israeli Zionism.
By following the public information, we see that until 2009 Drollinger was an outcast within the evangelical community, expelled from his congregation for serious irregularities.
But as a spiritual mentor to Pence and Pompeo, with whom he has had a relationship for a decade or so, he has been leading these so-called White House Bible studies since the time the Vice President invited him to s ‘install there in 2016, according to information published by Transnacionais da Fé.
The offensive south of the Rio Grande
By following the thread of the aforementioned investigation, we see that since these days, the offensive of the Ministries of the Capitol has multiplied, with very good results in Nicaragua, where the presidential couple invited Drollinger to set up his study center.
In Honduras, they managed to convince President Juan Orlando Hernandez to move his country’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.
In Brazil, through the local evangelical churches, Capitol Ministries has achieved an important insertion in the sectors linked to President Jair Bolsonaro, whose candidacy and administration have been supported without fail until now.
In Guatemala, a delegation from the Office of Faith, made up of no less than 23 pastors specializing in political operations, succeeded in changing the position of now ex-president Jimmy Morales, who was against the transfer of the Guatemalan embassy to Jerusalem. , in exchange for him, to dismantle the already uncomfortable Commission against Impunity and Corruption in Guatemala (Cicig), sponsored by the UN (United Nations).
The defenestration of this commission had the approval and complicit silence of the White House, which until then had promoted, supported and partially funded it.
This dismantling gave Morales peace of mind as he was under investigation and on the verge of being charged with various acts of corruption and abuse everywhere.
Who they are, what they want
According to this research, in the evangelical-Israeli strategy, devised from the Office of Faith, in addition to Drollinger, Cuban-American pastor Mario Bramnick, founder of the Christian-Zionist membership organization Latin Coalition for Israel (LCI ), based in Miami, he has a leading role.
The main objective of this NGO is to recruit political and religious leaders from Latin America to support the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of the State of Israel.
The ministries of the Capitol and the Office of Faith discreetly keep the identity of their main leaders confidential. The names of only a few are known, including Ralph Drollinger, Mario Bramnick and Michele Bachmann, former member of the US Congress and founder of the Tea Party group in the House of Representatives.
Bachmann is a member of the Capitol Ministries board of directors and personally heads a ministry at the United Nations Headquarters in New York City, from where she promotes a vision of the Old Testament of Israel.
They are joined by Peruvian Oscar Zamora, who has been Director for Latin America at Capitol Ministries since 2017. Since then, this organization has opened ministries in several countries in the region: Mexico, Honduras, Ecuador, Brazil, Peru, Uruguay, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama.
Biblical fundamentalists
According to anthropologist James Bielo, a professor at the University of Miami, the texts of the Capitol Ministries respond to the postulates of fundamentalist Protestantism that the Bible must be interpreted literally and that the principles of government must be derived, respecting this literal reading.
While Capitol Ministries has expanded its ministries south of Rio Grande over the past four years, operators of the White House Office of Faith have been actively working to align political credentials in the region with Trump and the Prime Minister’s agendas. Israeli Benjamin Netanyahu, in the Middle East. .
According to information analyzed by Transnationals of the Faith, “Prime Minister Netanyahu, also under investigation for corruption, is undoubtedly very grateful for the work of evangelicals, with whom he meets frequently to coordinate which ‘evangelical countries’ should influence for. support the expansion of the State of Israel in Jerusalem, according to the same advisers in the White House Office of Faith.
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Translation by Maria Isabel Santos Lima