Venezuela temporarily closes border with Brazil following US strike

US attacks connected Venezuela could substance greater destabilisation successful Latin America and spur a further exodus from the country.

Sao Paulo, Brazil – Venezuela has temporarily closed its borderline with Brazil pursuing the United States’s early greeting attack connected Caracas, successful which US forces besides “captured” President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.

The borderline crossing betwixt the Brazilian metropolis of Pacaraima and Santa Elena de Uairen successful Venezuela had been closed connected the Venezuelan broadside for astir 5 hours, blocking citizens from entering Brazil, a Brazilian subject authoritative told Al Jazeera.

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“There was nary ceremonial protocol from Venezuela regarding introduction and exit criteria. The information is that Brazilians are allowed to leave, portion Venezuelans look restrictions. But this could alteration astatine immoderate time,” said the official, who spoke connected information of anonymity due to the fact that helium is not authorised to talk connected the matter.

The caput of Brazil’s Federal Police besides announced the impermanent closure, and the politician of the authorities of Roraima told Reuters that the borderline had been reopened aft the little closure.

Brazil’s authorities said it is monitoring the borderline and has sent subject unit to the portion to bolster security.

“The Minister of Defense indicated that determination is nary abnormal enactment connected the borderline betwixt Brazil and Venezuela, which volition proceed to beryllium monitored, and that helium is successful interaction with the Governor of Roraima,” work a connection from Brazil’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Venezuelans marque up Brazil’s largest overseas population, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. The authorities of Roraima unsocial is location to 77,563 immigrants from the country. In all, immoderate 8 cardinal Venezuelans person fled their homes successful the past decade, with much than 6 cardinal resettling successful different Latin American countries.

“I deliberation it’s precise imaginable that determination volition beryllium an exodus of Venezuelans to Brazil, and, successful fact, we are already seeing factual signs of it,” Jessica Leon Cedeno, a Venezuelan writer who lives successful Sao Paulo, told Al Jazeera.

“Millions of radical person near the state successful hunt of amended surviving conditions and opportunities.”

Lula says US attacks could ‘destabilise’ the region

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said connected Saturday that US President Donald Trump’s actions inside Venezuela were “unacceptable”.

“The bombings connected Venezuelan territory and the seizure of its president transverse an unacceptable line,” wrote Lula connected X. “These acts correspond a sedate affront to Venezuela’s sovereignty and yet different highly unsafe precedent for the full planetary community.”

Brazil’s person has urged restraint for months amid an accrued US military buildup disconnected Venezuela’s coast.

Analysts interest that Maduro’s removal could plunge Venezuela into chaos, perchance resulting successful different question of mass migration, arsenic it witnessed successful 2019 aft a failed effort to region Maduro.

Joao Carlos Jarochinski Silva, a prof of planetary relations astatine the Federal University of Roraima, said that a imaginable question of migration would beryllium connected aggregate factors, including whether Washington continues its subject run wrong the state and whether what remains of Maduro’s authorities volition enactment up a fight.

“What is the resilience capableness of Chavismo wrong Venezuela?” Jarochinski Silva said, referring to the governmental question named aft erstwhile President Hugo Chavez. “This could person consequences that are genuinely worrying, but fixed the existent scenario, determination is nary discourse of fear.”

He added that Trump has truthful acold focused connected applauding his military’s enactment wrong Venezuela and has not addressed cardinal humanitarian concerns. Earlier this year, the Trump medication chopped backing to the US government’s main bureau for overseas aid, USAID, which heavy affected Venezuela’s neighbours, Brazil and Colombia.

“The United States has been cutting humanitarian resources lately,” helium said, adding that determination volition beryllium consequences to the US subject actions wrong the country. “For example, refugees, different radical who whitethorn beryllium affected by this. He doesn’t perpetrate to this docket astatine immoderate point.”