Brazil says US crossed ‘unacceptable line’ over military strikes on Venezuela

SAO PAULO: Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Saturday condemned the U.S. military attack on neighbor Venezuela and the capture of his Venezuelan counterpart Nicolas Maduro, saying it crossed “an unacceptable line.”

“These acts represent a grave affront to Venezuela’s sovereignty and yet another extremely dangerous precedent for the entire international community,” Lula said in a post on X.

Lula also called for a “vigorous” response from the United Nations, adding that Brazil remains open to promoting dialogue and cooperation.

Earlier on Saturday, the U.S. attacked Venezuela and deposed Maduro, President Donald Trump said, in Washington’s most direct intervention in Latin America since the 1989 invasion of Panama.

Lula had previously said that an armed intervention in Venezuela would be a “humanitarian catastrophe”, and has repeatedly offered for Brazil to mediate disputes between the countries.

Brazilian officials were holding an emergency cabinet meeting to discuss the situation in Venezuela, the country’s foreign ministry told Reuters, while noting that Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira had spoken with his Venezuelan counterpart on Saturday. It did not provide further details.

The head of Brazil’s Federal Police also said Venezuela had closed its border with the country, one of the main crossing points for Venezuelan refugees in the region and where Brazil has run operations to assist them since 2018.

After a brief closure, the border was reopened, Roraima state Governor Antonio Denarium told Reuters. Roraima is one of two Brazilian states - along with Amazonas - to share borders with Venezuela and receives around 70% of all Venezuelan refugees that arrive in Brazil, the governor said.

There were no official reports of a higher influx of refugees at the border ahead of its closing due to the military escalation in Venezuela.