{"id":119300,"date":"2026-01-04T01:53:17","date_gmt":"2026-01-04T01:53:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/119300\/"},"modified":"2026-01-04T01:53:17","modified_gmt":"2026-01-04T01:53:17","slug":"u-s-attacks-on-venezuela-prompt-praise-anger-and-fear","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/119300\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. attacks on Venezuela prompt praise, anger — and fear"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

MEXICO CITY\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Argentina\u2019s president called it \u201cexcellent news for the free world.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iran condemned it as a \u201cblatant violation of national sovereignty.\u201d<\/p>\n

Canada said little, except that it was \u201cmonitoring developments closely.\u201d <\/p>\n

The dramatic U.S. capture<\/a> of Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro was cheered by world leaders allied with President Trump, and condemned by those who oppose him.<\/p>\n

Other countries responded carefully to news of the covert U.S. operation, hoping to stay out of the crosshairs of a famously vindictive American president who wields tariffs freely<\/a> \u2014 and who has hinted at a willingness to broaden his military campaign. <\/p>\n

On Saturday, as details emerged about the early morning apprehension of Maduro and his wife from their Caracas home by special operations forces and the White House plan to exploit Venezuela\u2019s vast oil reserves, Trump boasted that he is \u201creasserting American power in a very powerful way\u201d and suggested that he may target Cuba, Colombia and Mexico next. <\/p>\n

\"Venezuelans <\/p>\n

Venezuelans celebrate in Madrid after President Trump announced that Venezuelan President Nicol\u00e1s Maduro had been captured and flown out of the country on Saturday.<\/p>\n

(Bernat Armangue \/ AP)<\/p>\n

At a news conference, Trump said he wants to \u201chelp the people in Cuba,\u201d which he described as a \u201cfailing nation,\u201d and threatened military action in Colombia, whose leftist President Gustavo Petro has been one of Trump\u2019s most vocal critics. <\/p>\n

Trump asserted, without evidence, that Petro is a drug trafficker and warned that Colombia\u2019s leader should \u201cwatch his ass.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an interview with Fox News on Saturday, Trump also revived warnings that U.S. forces may intervene in Mexico, one of America\u2019s closest allies. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe cartels are running Mexico,\u201d he said. \u201cWe have to do something.\u201d<\/p>\n

Some conservative leaders in Mexico welcome the prospect of U.S. drone strikes on cartel targets, and in recent polls about half of Mexicans surveyed said they support U.S. help with combating organized crime<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Venezuelan <\/p>\n

Venezuelan citizens in San Jose, Costa Rica, celebrate during a rally after the confirmation of Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u2019s capture early Saturday morning. <\/p>\n

(Manuel Arnoldo Robert Batalla\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

But Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum has repeatedly insisted that she will not allow the U.S. military to fight drug cartels inside her nation\u2019s borders. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not going to happen,\u201d she said late last year when Trump threatened such an operation. \u201cWe don\u2019t want intervention by any foreign government.\u201d <\/p>\n

She reposted a statement by her Foreign Ministry on Saturday that said \u201cthe government of Mexico vigorously condemns and rejects the military actions carried out unilaterally in recent hours by the armed forces of the United States of America against targets in the territory of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela.\u201d <\/p>\n

Sheinbaum also mentioned the United Nations Charter, which says members of the body \u201cshall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"People <\/p>\n

People take part in a demonstration against U.S. military action in Venezuela in front of the White House in Washington on Saturday. <\/p>\n

(Mandel Ngan\/AFP via Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Trump\u2019s actions prompted a rare statement from Andr\u00e9s Manuel L\u00f3pez Obrador, whose term as Mexico\u2019s president ended in 2024, and who has rarely spoken publicly since his retirement. <\/p>\n

\u201cI am retired from politics, but my libertarian convictions prevent me from remaining silent in the face of the arrogant attack on the sovereignty of the Venezuelan people and the kidnapping of their president,\u201d said L\u00f3pez Obrador, who formed a friendship with Trump during the first Trump presidency. \u201cNeither [Simon] Bol\u00edvar nor Lincoln would accept the United States government acting as a global tyranny.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A man holds the flags of Venezuela and the United States next to the statue of Simon Bolivar in Bolivar Square in Bogota, Colombia, during a rally after the confirmation of Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u2019s capture on Saturday. <\/p>\n

(Andres Rot\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

He told Trump not to bend to the will of advisors pressing for military actions. \u201cTell the hawks to go to hell; you have the capacity to act with practical judgment,\u201d L\u00f3pez Obrador said. <\/p>\n

In Latin America, the Middle East and in other parts of the world familiar with the long shadow of American intervention, Saturday\u2019s operation stirred memories of past U.S. airstrikes, coups d\u2019\u00e9tat and military invasions. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe bombings on Venezuelan territory and the capture of its president cross an unacceptable line,\u201d said Brazilian President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva. He said Maduro\u2019s ouster recalled \u201cthe darkest moments of [U.S.] interference in Latin America and the Caribbean.\u201d<\/p>\n

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, without mentioning specifics or possible new targets, viewed the action against Maduro as setting \u201ca dangerous precedent,\u201d according to his spokesperson, Stephane Dujarric.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s deeply concerned that the rules of international law have not been respected,\u201d Dujarric said of Guterres.<\/p>\n

\"A <\/p>\n

A man burns a United States flag during a rally in San Salvador, El Salvador, after Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u2019s capture Saturday. <\/p>\n

(Getty Images)<\/p>\n

U.S. intervention in the region dates back 200 years, when President James Monroe declared Latin America off limits to European colonization and began a campaign to establish the U.S. as a hemispheric power.<\/p>\n

Over decades, the U.S. carried out an array of interventions, from military invasions to covert operations to economic pressure campaigns. Motivations included fighting communism and protecting U.S. business interests. <\/p>\n

In his Saturday news conference, Trump hailed the Monroe Doctrine, which many in Latin American have condemned as an imperialist blueprint.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve superceded it by a lot,\u201d Trump said of the doctrine. \u201cAmerican dominance in the Western Hemisphere will never be questioned again.\u201d <\/p>\n

While many countries in Latin America criticized the U.S. campaign in Venezuela, others applauded it, highlighting the stark political divisions here. <\/p>\n

\u201cThe time is coming for all the narco-Chavista criminals,\u201d wrote conservative Ecuadoran President Daniel Noboa on X, referring to followers of Hugo Ch\u00e1vez, the late leftist revolutionary who served as president of Venezuela before Maduro. \u201cTheir structure will finally collapse across the entire continent.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Venezuelan <\/p>\n

Venezuelan citizens in Lima, Peru, celebrate during a rally after Venezuelan leader Nicol\u00e1s Maduro\u2019s capture Saturday. <\/p>\n

(Mariana Bazo\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele, who last year housed Venezuelan deportees from the United States in his country\u2019s most notorious prison, posted a photograph issued by the United States on Saturday of Maduro blindfolded and in handcuffs. <\/p>\n

The foreign ministry of Uruguay, meanwhile, said it rejected \u201cmilitary intervention by one country in the territory of another.\u201d<\/p>\n

The actions in Venezuela reverberated globally. <\/p>\n

Beijing, which has sought to expand its influence in Latin America in recent decades, said in a statement that \u201cChina is deeply shocked and strongly condemns the U.S.\u2019s blatant use of force against a sovereign state and its action against its president.\u201d<\/p>\n

Iran, whose leadership frets about being in the crosshairs of a similar U.S. operation, said the action in Venezuela \u201crepresents a grave breach of regional and international peace and security.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIts consequences affect the entire international system,\u201d it said. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"MEXICO CITY\u00a0\u2014\u00a0Argentina\u2019s president called it \u201cexcellent news for the free world.\u201d Iran condemned it as a \u201cblatant violation…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":119301,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[27],"tags":[7625,63148,63147,21292,48,52,51,7036,47,50,49,62984,2457,63146,6843,6283,595,1519,43610,435,9298],"class_list":["post-119300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-los-angeles","tag-america","tag-andres-manuel-lopez-obrador","tag-armed-force","tag-intervention","tag-la","tag-la-headlines","tag-la-news","tag-last-year","tag-los-angeles","tag-los-angeles-headlines","tag-los-angeles-news","tag-maduro","tag-mexico","tag-military-action","tag-operation","tag-president","tag-saturday","tag-trump","tag-u-s-force","tag-united-states","tag-venezuela"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119300"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119300\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119301"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119300"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}