Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (left) and Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum (right) at the CELAC heads of states summit in Honduras, April 2025. File photo.
By Misión Verdad – Nov 28, 2025
The United States’ military deployment in the Caribbean Sea and its “anti-drug operation” rhetoric have set off alarm bells in the region. The maneuver, which combines naval presence, explicit threats, and a narrative criminalizing Venezuela, has been interpreted by various governments and international actors as an attempt to justify the use of force under a legal and media guise.
This occurs at a time of profound global instability, with Washington attempting to reassert its strategic hegemony on a continent where it no longer holds the absolute control that it once did.
In this scenario, a wide range of countries, both in Latin America and globally, have issued public statements in defense of regional sovereignty and in condemnation of any form of military intervention. This ensemble of declarations reveals the growing isolation of the US strategy and the global unease over its projection of force.
Latin America warns against US military deployment
The first reactions to the US military presence in the Caribbean came from the region itself. Brazil, despite its past differences with Venezuela, has pointed out the strategic risks.
“South America is a zone of peace,” declared Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. “I am very concerned about the military apparatus that the United States has deployed in the Caribbean Sea. I am very concerned. I intend to speak with President Trump about this because I am concerned.”
Similarly, Colombian President Gustavo Petro called the increased US military presence “excessive,” warning that an intervention against Venezuela could trigger a regional conflict of unpredictable magnitude. He has also condemned US attacks on boats in the Caribbean under the pretext of combating drug trafficking, describing the attacks as extrajudicial executions, and suspended intelligence cooperation with Washington.
The Mexican government joined the regional condemnation and demanded that US military pressure be halted. It condemned the use of force as an instrument of US hemispheric policy.
A joint statement by the governments of Colombia, Mexico, and Cuba specifically repudiated the deployment of US troops and naval ships in waters near Venezuela, insisting that this maneuver represents a threat to regional sovereignty.
In the multilateral arena, the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC) issued a statement warning that the deployment of US troops in the Caribbean poses a risk to hemispheric peace and Venezuela’s stability.
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Repudiation from outside the region
Outside the continent, the main Eurasian powers have also taken a stance on the US military deployment. Russia condemned Washington’s excessive use of force in the Caribbean, highlighting that operations under the anti-drug narrative conceal a political objective against Venezuela. The Russian Foreign Ministry stated that these maneuvers threaten hemispheric stability and reiterated its support for Venezuelan sovereignty.
At the UN Security Council, Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya was even more direct, calling Washington’s threats “unprecedented pressure” and warning that any military attack against Venezuela would be an “irreparable mistake” with global repercussions.
China also expressed its condemnation of external interference in Venezuela. Chinese statements have highlighted that Venezuela should resolve its affairs without threats of military invasion or foreign sanctions, and that the use of force contradicts the fundamental principles of the UN Charter.
At the multilateral level, there have also been significant pronouncements. A group of 20 countries in the Human Rights Council questioned the unilateral coercive measures and punitive approach toward Venezuela, noting that unilateral coercive measures and threats exacerbate the humanitarian situation and violate international law. Although this statement does not specifically address the military deployment, it does demonstrate the international condemnation of the pressure tactics underpinning Washington’s actions.
At the institutional level, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has insisted on the need to abandon policies that exacerbate the conflict and to resume diplomatic avenues that respect sovereignty and fundamental rights. His call for de-escalation is part of a global concern over the deterioration of the geopolitical climate and the risks that military pressure could lead to regional violence.
A maneuver without allies
Far from generating consensus, the US deployment in the Caribbean has triggered alarms among governments of various political persuasions, multilateral organizations, and foreign powers, which warn of the risk of an escalation with hemispheric repercussions. In addition to this institutional and geopolitical repudiation, there is another factor: US public opinion.
According to a CBS poll, 70% of Americans oppose any military intervention in Venezuela. This figure reflects a profound erosion of the domestic consensus that, on other occasions, allowed the United States to undertake military operations with public support. Twenty years ago, the US government was able to build broad support for militarily intervening in West Asia under the pretext of the “fight against terrorism.” Today, however, Washington’s ability to justify new military adventures has eroded both abroad and within its own borders.
Overall, the picture shows that the diplomatic, geopolitical, and social alignments have shifted towards the defense of sovereignty and opposition to intervention. Washington is facing a scenario that it no longer fully controls.
Translation: Orinoco Tribune
OT/SC/SF
Misión Verdad
Misión Verdad is a Venezuelan investigative journalism website with a socialist perspective in defense of the Bolivarian Revolution
