Polls show majority of Latin Americans approved U.S. action in Venezuela

Several polls indicated that a majority of Latin Americans questioned endorsed President Trump’s intervention in Venezuela after the capture of Nicolás Maduro earlier this month, even as reactions varied across the region. The polls cited support levels of 74 percent in Peru and 63 percent in Chile, and found majorities in Colombia, Brazil, Argentina and Panama backing the action, while Mexico was more evenly split.

Argentina’s polling firm Altica reported 61 percent support and 31 percent opposition. Some governments and leaders condemned the raid; Mexico’s leftist leader Claudia Sheinbaum issued a rejection, and polls in Europe showed majorities in Spain, Germany and Britain condemning the attack.

Analysts and pollsters pointed to widespread disapproval of Mr. Maduro’s rule and the regional impact of Venezuelan migration as drivers of support. Marta Lagos, founder of Latinobarómetro, said, "International law, imperialism, this is the discourse of the elite," and that popular support "has nothing to do with ideology." Experts including Patricio Navia and Steven Levitsky cited generational change and urgent concerns about crime and drug trafficking as factors shaping public attitudes.

The Migration Policy Institute was cited on the scale of displacement, saying about eight million Venezuelans fled in recent years, nearly seven million to Latin American countries.

Key Topics

World, Nicolás Maduro, Latin America, Peru, Chile, Claudia Sheinbaum