Related videos:
The Brazilian government reiterated that it does not recognize Nicolás Maduro as the legitimate president of Venezuela, while expressing its concern over the recent deployment of American warships near Venezuelan coasts as part of a drug enforcement operation in the region.
In recent statements, Celso Amorim, former foreign minister and advisor on International Affairs to the Brazilian Presidency, indicated that the deployment of three U.S. warships in the Caribbean raises "concern" and that the fight against organized crime should not be carried out unilaterally.
"It must be addressed through cooperation between nations," the diplomat stated in remarks to local media. Although the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva maintains diplomatic relations with Venezuela, Amorim was emphatic in stating that "Brazil does not recognize Nicolás Maduro's regime as a legitimate government."
In this regard, Lula da Silva's government reaffirmed its initial position and insisted that “the records never appeared” following the Venezuelan elections in July 2024, which were widely rejected as fraudulent by the international community.
In August of that year, both Brazil and Colombia rejected the election results presented by Maduro's regime, citing a lack of transparency and verifiable data.
Both Lula da Silva and Gustavo Petro urged the Chavista regime to publish the voting records in light of allegations of massive fraud, but their demands, shared by the Venezuelan opposition and the majority of countries worldwide and in the region –except for the regimes of Cuba and Nicaragua– were never addressed.
The usurpation of power and the repression unleashed against a population that overwhelmingly voted for change - more than 30 percentage points, according to opposition data - as well as against its main leaders and the teams of María Corina Machado and Edmundo González Urrutia (in exile), once again established the Maduro regime on foundations of flagrant illegitimacy.
The regional tension reached new heights last week after the United States deployed 4,500 soldiers and several warships in the Caribbean and Latin America to combat drug trafficking, in an operation that includes actions against organizations such as the Cartel of the Suns, linked to the Venezuelan high command.
Washington claims that Maduro is the leader of a narco-state established with the support of the military elite and client networks both inside and outside the country, which is why the reward for his capture has been doubled to 50 million dollars.
In response, the Chavista regime activated the mobilization of 4.5 million militiamen and deployed 15,000 military personnel at the border with Colombia, accusing the U.S. of seeking a regime change in Caracas.
Brazil, which hosts over a million Venezuelan refugees, has attempted to mediate in the crisis alongside Colombia and Mexico. However, Lula da Silva has taken a tougher stance due to the lack of progress and the bilateral tensions that arose from the massive electoral fraud in July 2024.
"I do not accept the victory of Maduro nor the opposition. We demand evidence", he said in a radio interview in August of that year, during which he advocated for holding new transparent elections, a controversial solution given the totalitarian control and repression unleashed by the Chavista regime.
While their stance has been viewed by analysts as a mediation strategy that would benefit Maduro—giving him time and the benefit of the doubt—Amorim's recent statements once again highlight the lack of legitimacy of the Venezuelan regime and open a door that, beyond the regional uncertainty caused by the increasing U.S. military presence in the Caribbean, could lead to greater coordination to bring an end to Nicolás Maduro's narco-dictatorship.
Filed under: