The Brazilian government reported, this Saturday (3), that 100 Brazilians who were visiting Venezuela crossed the border with Brazil, in Roraima, after attacks by the United States (USA) against the South American country.
Itamaraty continues to monitor the situation of the Brazilian community in Venezuela, informed the interim minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MRE), Maria Laura da Rocha.
“Our embassy in Caracas continues to closely monitor not only the development of events, but also the situation of the Brazilian community in that country. There are no reports of victims or injuries in the Brazilian community”, said the interim minister.
Ambassador Maria Laura replaces Minister Mauro Vieira, who was on vacation, but interrupted his rest and traveled back to Brasília this Saturday to follow the events involving the neighboring country.
Ambassador Maria Laura spoke to the press at Itamaraty, after the second emergency meeting of the day on the US invasion of Venezuela.
The meeting was coordinated by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and also included the participation of the Ministers of Justice and Public Security, Ricardo Lewandoviski, the Planalto Communications Secretariat, Sidônio Palmeira, and Defense, José Múcio.
Also participating in the meeting were the interim minister of the Civil House, Miriam Belchior, the Brazilian ambassador in Caracas, Glivânia Maria de Oliveira, as well as representatives from the Institutional Relations secretariat.
The Minister of Defense, José Múcio, reinforced that the border remains open and calm, suggesting that Brazilians who want to leave the country seek diplomatic representations.
“As everything is calm, the borders are open, there are no restrictions. Brazilians who are there can come, look for their ambassador, the ambassador helped, the Brazilian vice-consul there has also helped a lot, so we are just on call to see if new events arise”, said Múcio.
Head of state
Asked who Brazil recognizes as head of state in Venezuela, Maria Laura said she is vice-president Delcy Rodríguez. “In the absence of the current president, Maduro, she is the vice president. She is acting president,” he stated.
The interim MRE minister also said that Brazil is participating in the ministerial meeting of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac), scheduled for this Sunday (4), and the UN Security Council, scheduled for next Monday (5). In both meetings, US aggression against Venezuela will be discussed.
“Brazil continues to be in favor of international law, which is the traditional Brazilian position against any type of territorial invasion, it is for the sovereignty of countries”, stated Maria Laura.
In a statement published earlier, President Lula condemned the attack arguing that it was a violation of international law.
Understand
The US aggression against Venezuela marks a new episode of direct interventions by Washington in Latin America. The last time the US invaded a Latin American country was in 1989, in Panama, when the US military kidnapped then-president Manuel Noriega, accusing him of drug trafficking.
Just as they did with Noriega, the US accuses, without presenting evidence, Maduro of leading an alleged Venezuelan De Los Soles cartel. Experts in international drug trafficking question the existence of this cartel.
The US government was offering a $50 million reward for information leading to Maduro’s arrest.
For critics, the action is a geopolitical measure to distance Venezuela from US global adversaries, such as China and Russia, in addition to exerting greater control over the country’s oil, which has the largest proven oil reserves on the planet.
