U.S. seizure of Nicolás Maduro deepens political split across Latin America

By Jan. 3 the United States had swept into Venezuela and captured its president, Nicolás Maduro, prompting frantic exchanges among Latin American leaders as they weighed how to respond. The reactions exposed regional fault lines: the region’s three largest countries — Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, all led by leftists — criticized the American action with varying degrees of outrage and diplomacy, while right-wing governments including Argentina, El Salvador and Ecuador welcomed Mr.

Trump. Smaller nations such as Guatemala and Peru kept quiet. “All of the countries are trying to avoid a conflict with Trump,” said Jorge G. Castañeda, a former Mexican foreign minister, and Mr. Trump has declared that “American dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again.” Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum has taken steps to placate Washington — including tougher action on drug cartels, stepped-up border enforcement and tariffs on many Chinese goods of up to 50 percent — while publicly rejecting military action inside other countries.

Sheinbaum signed a joint 280-word rejection of the U.S. action with Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Uruguay and Spain but Mexico’s foreign ministry did not release the statement publicly and avoided naming the United States.

Key Topics

World, Nicolás Maduro, Venezuela, Donald Trump, Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum