Mexico, Brazil call on UN to tamp down U.S.-Venezuela tensions, as China criticizes ‘bullying’ of its ally
The presidents of Latin America’s two largest countries urged restraint on Wednesday in the face of escalating actions from the United States toward regional neighbour Venezuela.
U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday ordered a blockade of all oil tankers under sanctions entering and leaving Venezuela — a move that the government of President Nicolás Maduro called a “grotesque threat.”
Trump’s administration has moved thousands of troops and nearly a dozen warships — including an aircraft carrier — to the region, spiking tensions. Maduro’s government has rejected Trump’s moves and has alleged that the U.S. military aims to control Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
President Claudia Sheinbaum said during a morning news conference that Mexico is against intervention and foreign interference in Venezuela.
“I call on the United Nations to fulfil its role. It has not been present. It must assume its role to prevent any bloodshed,” she said.
Sheinbaum also advocated for dialogue and de-escalation between Venezuela and the U.S., and offered Mexico as a host of any potential negotiations or meetings between the two countries.
“The entire world must ensure that there is no intervention and that there is a peaceful solution,” she added.
Brazil adds its voice to calls for peace
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also called for peace in the region.
“I am concerned about President Trump’s attitudes towards Latin America, about the threats,” Lula said at a ministerial meeting, adding that he urged dialogue between Caracas and Washington in a call with Trump this month.
“The power of the word can outweigh the power of the gun … I said to Trump: ‘If you are interested in talking to Venezuela properly, we can contribute. Now, you have to be willing to talk, you have to be patient,'” Lula said.
Lula and Sheinbaum made the comments hours before Trump was set to address Americans on Wednesday evening from the White House.
The two leftist presidents have both been closely engaged in trade negotiations with the Trump administration, and both have achieved a relatively positive rapport with the U.S. leader.
U.S. tensions with Venezuela have escalated as Trump has moved thousands of troops and nearly a dozen warships — including an aircraft carrier — to the areas surrounding Venezuela’s Caribbean shores.
In a statement shared by his spokesperson on Wednesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for the immediate de-escalation of tensions between the United States and Venezuela, asking both countries to “honour their obligations under international law, including the UN Charter and any other applicable legal framework to safeguard peace in the region.”
Guterres repeated calls for de-escalation in a phone call with Maduro on Wednesday, the Venezuelan government said in a statement.
Maduro’s government has alleged that the U.S. military aims to control Venezuela’s vast oil reserves.
It is unclear how Trump would impose his announced blockade against sanctioned vessels, and whether he will turn to the U.S. Coast Guard to interdict vessels. The U.S. last week seized a supertanker near Venezuela.
China supports Venezuela
In a call with his Venezuelan counterpart on Wednesday, China’s foreign minister, Wang Yi, said it opposes “unilateral bullying” and supports countries in safeguarding their own sovereignty.
Wang said in a phone call with Venezuelan Foreign Minister Yvan Gil that China and Venezuela are strategic partners, and that mutual trust and support are a tradition of bilateral ties, according to a Chinese Foreign Ministry statement.
“China believes the international community understands and supports Venezuela’s position in defending its legitimate rights and interests,” he said.
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China was among a few countries to react Wednesday with criticism to the blockade announcement.
China’s stake in the issue is considerable. It has been the destination for between 55 per cent and 90 per cent of Venezuela’s monthly oil exports, compared with 40 per cent to 60 per cent last year.
Analysts have warned that Venezuelan supplies in China could be reduced in February if tankers currently loaded and waiting in Venezuelan waters are unable to depart.
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Since the U.S. seized the large crude carrier Skipper last week, only Chevron-chartered tankers, which operate under U.S. authorization, have set sail without delays.
At least half a dozen tankers have turned around since last week to avoid approaching the Caribbean Sea, which is heavily patrolled by U.S. vessels, according to data on TankerTrackers.com.
By the time the U.S. moved to seize the Skipper, which had carried oil under sanctions from Venezuela and Iran, state-run company PDVSA was already struggling to allocate its crude close to contract prices due to a growing flood of oil under sanctions to its main market, China.
More than nine million barrels of Venezuelan oil remain stuck in vessels in Venezuelan waters, traders and a company source said this week.
Nearly 100 killed in strikes on boats
Since midsummer, the Trump administration has doubled a reward leading to the capture of autocratic leader Maduro — who remains in power after a 2024 election not considered free by the U.S. and most Western countries. And it has conducted a series of controversial, deadly strikes on alleged drug-carrying boats it links to Maduro’s administration.
The Trump administration, in a notice to Congress under the War Powers Act, has said the U.S. military is engaged in “a non-international armed conflict” and that those on the drug-carrying boats can be considered enemy combatants.
It is estimated around 95 people have died in the strikes, and the revelation that two survivors of an initial strike on Sept. 2 were subsequently killed in a followup strike has caused an outcry on Capitol Hill.
The legality of the overall campaign has been questioned by nearly all Democrats and a small group of Republicans, and the U.S. legislators have complained that it has come without the authorization of Congress. Defence Secretary Pete Hegseth and other high-placed military leaders have given little information on the occupants or cargo on the boats, some legislators have complained.
As well, several strikes have occurred far from the coast of Venezuela — in Pacific waters.
Hegseth and the administration have lashed out at a handful of Democratic lawmakers who last month released a video advising service members that they can decline unlawful orders, without specifically citing the Venezuelan campaign.
The Trump administration rationale has also been questioned by drug policy experts, given that it is fentanyl that has been linked to a dramatic rise in American drug toxicity deaths over the past decade.
“It needs to be clearly stated — 0.00 per cent of fentanyl that arrives in the United States comes from Venezuela, the Caribbean or South America for that matter,” John Walsh, a drug policy expert at the Washington Office of Latin America, told CBC News in a recent interview.
Mexico is viewed as the primary source of fentanyl that arrives in the U.S., often smuggled through border points, with most fentanyl precursors originating in China.
Venezuela is seen as largely a transit country for South America’s bigger cocaine producers.
