Part of the Mercosur members, under the leadership of Argentina, announced joint statement calling for the reestablishment of democracy and respect for human rights in Venezuela. The document was signed on the sidelines of the bloc’s summit, which took place this Saturday (20), in Foz do Iguaçu (PR), under the presidency of Brazil.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva did not sign the statement, nor did the president of Uruguay, Yamandú Orsi. The Planalto Palace’s assessment is that such a document, signed by Mercosur, could be read by United States authorities as support for possible US military action in Venezuela; and that is of no interest to Brazil.
The letter does not mention the tension between the United States and Venezuela or the increase in American military presence in the Caribbean region. President Donald Trump’s government does not recognize Nicolás Maduro, in power since 2013, as the legitimate leader of Venezuela.
The United States has been bombing ships and seized oil shipsunder the justification of combating drug trafficking routes that supply the United States. As for President Nicolás Maduro, there are interests in the country’s oil wealth and the military reinforcement in the region aims to remove him from power.
The Caribbean country is one of the largest oil producers on the planet. The product is the heart of Venezuela’s economy, and US action could cause financial asphyxiation to the country.
Announcement
The statement issued yesterday was made on behalf of the presidents of Argentina, Javier Milei; from Paraguay, Santiago Peña; and from Panama, José Raúl Mulino. High-ranking officials from Bolivia, Ecuador and Peru also signed the letter. They expressed “deep concern” about the serious migratory, humanitarian and social crisis in Venezuela, a country suspended from the South American bloc.
“[Os líderes] reaffirmed their firm commitment to achieving, through peaceful means, the full restoration of democratic order and unrestricted respect for human rights in Venezuela,” the statement said.
Mercosur was founded in 1991 by Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay and, in 2012, accepted Venezuela as a member. In 2017, however, the country was suspended for breaking the democratic orderbased on the clauses of the Ushuaia Protocol, signed in 1998 and which deals with the democratic commitments of the bloc’s countries.
In the statement, the countries also ratified the validity of the Ushuaia Protocol and reiterated, among others, “the articulation of mechanisms for the defense of democracy”. They also call for the release of political prisoners.
President Lula did not officially recognize Nicolás Maduro as victorious in the elections held in July 2024 in Venezuelabut the government has been “deeply cautious” with issues involving the neighboring country.
In this sense, the Palácio do Planalto’s assessment is that it does not work to approve a declaration saying that it is necessary to resolve a political problem and not mention that there is a “threat of a military solution” by the United States.
Catastrophe
In an interview with journalists, last Thursday (18), at Palácio do Planalto, Lula reported having held telephone conversations with both Maduro and Trump, in an attempt to seek a diplomatic solution to the situation.. During the Mercosur meeting, he stated that an intervention in Venezuela would generate a humanitarian catastrophe and a dangerous precedent for the world.
“More than four decades after the Falklands War, the South American continent is once again haunted by the military presence of an extra-regional power. The limits of international law are being tested,” Lula told the leaders, during his speech.
The president of Argentina, Javier Milei, called Nicolás Maduro a “narco-terrorist” and praised the military actions on the Venezuelan coast.
“Argentina welcomes the pressure from the United States and Donald Trump to free the Venezuelan people. The time for timidity on this issue has passed,” he said in a speech at the Mercosur summit.
