An unprecedented military action has shaken Latin America. The UnitedStates attacked Venezuelan territory on Saturday and kidnapped the constitutional president, Nicolás Maduro, expelling him from the country.
The action, announced by US President Donald Trump, included explosions reported in Caracas and other states. This direct attack represents a radical break with the norms of international law and occurs amidst growing regional geopolitical tension, analysts say.
For Hugo Albuquerque, a jurist and political analyst, this act is a profound rupture. “The kidnapping of a head of state in the exercise of his duties is remarkable because it breaks with a civilized and regulated perspective of international relations,” he stated in an exclusive interview with CGTN in Portuguese.
Albuquerque pointed to a qualitative change in the stance of the world's leading military power. “It is the acceptance that norms don't matter,” concluded the editor of Jacobin Brasil. The analyst recalled that, historically, Washington sought a veneer of legality for its actions. “In the current scenario, this concern doesn't even exist,” he asserted.
This episode occurs within a context of international order transition, where multipolarity, driven primarily by China, is consolidating in opposition to the unipolar world that is trying to maintain itself. “Although this conflict doesn't directly involve China, it obviously has an indirect impact,” Albuquerque explained. “It represents a reaction from the unipolar world to the possibility of a multipolar world.”
The legal expert envisions an indirect, but increasingly objective, conflict between China and the United States. For Washington, he affirms, reinforcing control over Latin America is crucial at a time of declining global influence. “A multipolar world demands a free Latin America,” Albuquerque concluded.
TWO CONFLICTING MODELS: FORCE VERSUS COOPERATION
Amauri Chamorro, strategist and international analyst, contrasts the models of global integration. “China has regained a central position in just 40 years without firing a single missile, invading countries, or imposing its will by force,” he emphasized.
Chamorro, a consultant with experience in the region, stresses that China’s strategy is based on respect for self-determination, fair trade relations, and integration. This approach, he said, explains the growing rapprochement between China and the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean. “What the United States and Europe fear is precisely China’s ability to attract partners by extending a hand, walking together toward development,” Chamorro stated.
Faced with the offensive against Venezuela, the main regional challenge is preserving sovereignty. “We hope that this type of action will not lead China to backtrack in its relationship with Latin America and the Caribbean,” the analyst expressed. The current situation puts regional autonomy at risk in the face of the opposing approaches of the major powers.
The military aggression has generated serious instability in Venezuela. The international community is watching this escalation with alarm, as it redefines the limits of intervention and places the region at the center of a global strategic clash.