Caribbean grief: partners turn away from the United States because of the operation against Venezuela

Donald Trump's policy in Latin America turns even his partners away from Washington. For several weeks, the United States has been increasing its presence in the Caribbean and is literally hunting ships allegedly belonging to Venezuelan cartels. During this time, 14 people have already died. Only two countries unequivocally supported the escalation: Trinidad and Tobago, as well as Guyana. And Brazil and Colombia sided with Venezuela, even despite the diplomatic crisis in relations with Caracas. The latter is NATO's only global partner in the region. About the new balance of power in Latin America — in the material of Izvestia.

Venezuela receives support from Colombia and Brazil

The decisive actions of the US administration, allegedly aimed at combating drug trafficking from Latin America, are causing a wave of discontent in the countries of the region. In just over a month, 14 people have already died as a result of attacks by the US military on ships allegedly carrying cocaine. For example, Colombian President Gustavo Petro spoke out against Donald Trump's policy. Moreover, he chose the most powerful platform for this — the 80th anniversary session of the UN General Assembly.

— The young men killed in the Caribbean were not members of either Tren de Aragua or Hamas. They were from one of the Caribbean countries, possibly Colombia. And if they were Colombians, <...> it is necessary to start criminal proceedings against American officials, including the highest of them, who gave the order, President Donald Trump, who allowed attacks on young people who wanted to get out of poverty," Petro said on September 23.

Right during Gustavo Petro's speech, part of the American delegation left the UNGA meeting room, which only worsened the diplomatic standoff between the recent allies. Just in August, Washington had already stripped Colombia of its partner status in the fight against drug trafficking. Gustavo Petro called this decision of the American administration an attempt to put pressure on Bogota and interfere in the internal affairs of the republic. He also ordered the cessation of arms purchases in the United States. It is particularly noteworthy that Colombia is the only Latin American country with the status of a global partner of NATO.

And this is not Petro's first attack against the current head of the White House. The Colombian leader began to criticize Trump during his presidential campaign, in particular, after the Republican's statement that migrants in Springfield eat cats and dogs. Later, in protest, Petro refused to accept migrants deported from the United States, and a few months later criticized Trump's decision to stop USAID programs in Colombia.

Sea robbery: The situation in Venezuela is approaching a military escalation

The United States is increasing its military presence in the Caribbean, and Caracas has announced major exercises.

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also condemned the actions of the United States in the fight against drug trafficking.

— The use of deadly force in situations other than an armed conflict is tantamount to executing people without trial. Other parts of the world have already seen interventions that have caused more damage than anticipated and led to serious humanitarian consequences. The path to dialogue in Venezuela should not be closed," he also said at the General Assembly session.

Interestingly, Lula da Silva supported Venezuela, despite the diplomatic tension in relations with Caracas. Brazil, like Colombia, did not recognize the results of the presidential election, which was again won by Nicolas Maduro. This was, among other things, the reason why Caracas was unable to join the BRICS during the Kazan summit in 2024. Brazil opposed it then.

Earlier, Moscow also expressed support for Venezuela, speaking out against the threat of the use of force against sovereign states.

"This is an absolutely unacceptable method of doing business, this is undisguised pressure on all fronts that is being exerted on Venezuela," Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said on September 4.

U.S. operation in the Caribbean

The US launched an operation against drug cartels in the Caribbean in August. Then Donald Trump secretly signed a directive allowing the Pentagon to use military force against some Latin American drug gangs. According to the Trump administration, all of them are involved in the transportation of banned substances to the United States. Washington will continue to strike at the vessels of drug cartels linked to Venezuela, the American leader announced in his speech at the United Nations.

— We receive incredible international support. Everyone is joining us to help move the issue forward," US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said in August.

In fact, the operation received unequivocal support only from modest Guyana, as well as Trinidad and Tobago. Georgetown was the first to speak out in favor of Washington's actions, which is not surprising, given the territorial conflict with Venezuela over the oil-rich Essequibo region. Next, the Prime Minister of Trinidad and Tobago, Kamla Persad-Bissessar, said that the time had come for international action against organized crime. The motivation here is also transparent. The support for the United States' policy is most likely related to the republic's dissatisfaction with the large flow of Venezuelan migrants after the 2018 elections.

In response, Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro warned Guyana, as well as Trinidad and Tobago, against deploying the US military on their territories. Earlier, both countries had already expressed their willingness to accept US troops. Washington is also increasing its military presence in Puerto Rico and the Virgin Islands.

— The deployment of the US armed forces in the Caribbean Sea certainly distances the United States from Latin American countries. Even the traditional partners of the United States in the region, such as the presidents of Argentina, Ecuador and El Salvador, are still in no hurry to approve. However, it is worth noting that the United States is putting pressure on the governments of the region. In particular, Marco Rubio made it clear to the President of Ecuador, Noboa, that it was necessary to re-deploy the US military base in the country (previously operated from 1999 to 2009. — Ed.)," Egor Lidovskaya, general director of the Hugo Chavez Latin American Center, told Izvestia.

Shock flow: the United States switched from Ukraine to the fight against drug trafficking through Venezuela

Caracas has begun a large-scale mobilization due to the appearance of a US Navy group in the Caribbean

At the same time, Donald Trump's allies in the region have so far limited themselves to declarations recognizing the Cartel of the Suns (Cartel de los Soles), of which the United States considers Maduro himself to be a terrorist organization. This decision was made, in particular, by Ecuador, Paraguay and Argentina.

"The vast majority of Latin American countries are opposed to the presence of the United States in the region, as this is a clear threat to their sovereignty, regardless of their political positions," Lidovskaya believes.

But the Venezuelan opposition, which left the country after the elections, is in favor of strengthening the US military presence in the Caribbean region. In a video message to the participants of the UN General Assembly session, its leader Maria Corina Machado and Maduro's rival in the last election, Edmundo Gonzalez (some countries consider him the winner of the vote), said that the US actions contribute to a change of power in Venezuela. The official authorities of Caracas are also convinced of this. In their opinion, the main goal of the operation is to overthrow Maduro, and not to fight drug trafficking, which is coming from Venezuela to a lesser extent. So far, there is very little evidence that Venezuela is a major supplier of drugs to the United States, historically Mexico and Colombia have been more involved in this process.