Latin America fractures over Trump’s Maduro capture as regional allies shift right

UNITED NATIONS: A deepening governmental realignment crossed Latin America came into attraction complete nan play astatine a acme of nan Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, aliases CELAC, and sharpened further Monday astatine nan United Nations Security Council, wherever governments publically divided complete nan U.S. domiciled successful nan seizure of Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro.

At CELAC, respective leftist governments attempted to push done a associated connection condemning Maduro’s detention. The effort grounded aft a bloc of countries consisting of Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru, Ecuador, El Salvador, Panama, nan Dominican Republic, and Trinidad and Tobago blocked consensus, preventing nan location assemblage from issuing a unified defense of nan Venezuelan leader, Merco Press agency reported.

The breakdown exposed increasing fractures wrong what has agelong been a left-leaning location forum and underscored nan erosion of automatic solidarity pinch Caracas.

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President Donald Trump greets nan President of Argentina, Javier Milei, astatine nan White House successful Washington DC , Oct. 14, 2025.  (Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Melissa Ford Maldonado, head of nan Western Hemisphere Initiative astatine nan America First Policy Institute, said nan fractures bespeak a broader location reckoning pinch nan consequences of socialist and narco-authoritarian rule.

"We are witnessing a location awakening crossed Latin America," Maldonado told Fox News Digital. "The nonaccomplishment of socialism, communism and narco-authoritarian norm has go intolerable to ignore."

The displacement is progressively visible astatine nan ballot box, wherever voters successful respective countries — past period unsocial successful Chile and Honduras — person moved distant from entrenched left-wing governments and toward right-of-center leaders campaigning connected themes of security, sovereignty, separator power and rule and bid — messages that echo aspects of President Donald Trump’s governmental attack successful nan United States.

Colombian U.N. Ambassador Leonor Zalabata Torres attends a UN Security Council gathering connected U.S. strikes and nan seizure of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, astatine nan United Nations office successful New York, U.S., Jan. 5, 2026. (Brendan McDermid/Reuters)

"The developments astatine CELAC this play bespeak that reality," Maldonado said. "The truth that respective governments blocked a corporate defense of Nicolás Maduro shows really divided nan authoritarian near has become. Venezuela has go a cautionary tale."

That section carried complete into nan Security Council connected Monday, wherever Latin American and Caribbean states took sharply different positions, pinch immoderate openly backing Washington and others denouncing nan U.S. action arsenic a usurpation of world law.

Argentina emerged arsenic nan astir forceful location protagonist of nan United States, praising President Donald Trump and framing Maduro’s seizure arsenic a decisive rustle against organized crime.

"The Government of nan Argentine Republic values nan determination and determination demonstrated by nan President of nan United States of America and his government, and nan caller actions taken successful Venezuela that resulted successful nan seizure of dictator Nicolás Maduro, leader of nan Cartel of nan Suns," Argentina’s typical Francisco Fabián Tropepi told nan council, adding nan Maduro authorities "has not only constituted a nonstop threat to nan citizens systematic usurpation of quality authorities successful nan authorities appropriation of nan country's resources and demolition of antiauthoritarian institutions, but besides to nan full region by starring and exploiting its networks of supplier trafficking and organized crime."

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UN Security Council meeting. (Photo by John Lamparski/Getty Images)

Paraguay echoed that framing, claiming Maduro’s continued beingness "was a threat to nan region," adding that "the removal of nan leader of a violent statement should instantly lead to nan restoration of populist and nan norm of rule successful Venezuela, making it imaginable for nan will of nan people, expressed astatine nan ballot box, to go nan instauration for nan country’s reconstruction," its typical Marcelo Eliseo Scappini Ricciardi said.

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Nicolas Maduro is seen successful handcuffs aft landing astatine a Manhattan helipad, escorted by heavy equipped national agents arsenic they make their measurement into an armored car en way to a national courthouse successful Manhattan connected Jan. 5, 2026 successful New York City.  (XNY/Star Max/GC Images)

Other CELAC members took nan other view, condemning nan U.S. action and informing that it group a vulnerable precedent.

Brazil "categorically and firmly" rejected what it called equipped involution connected Venezuelan territory, describing the seizure of Maduro arsenic "a very superior affront to nan sovereignty of Venezuela and an highly vulnerable precedent for nan full world community." 

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Venezuelans surviving successful Argentina observe astatine nan Obelisk successful Buenos Aires connected Jan. 3, 2026, aft US forces captured Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro.  (Tomas Cuesta/AFP via Getty Images)

Mexico denounced nan operation arsenic a usurpation of nan U.N. Charter, arguing that outer efforts to enforce governmental alteration historically worsen conflicts and destabilize societies. Chile besides condemned what it called unilateral subject action and warned against overseas interference, while Cuba and Nicaragua delivered blistering denunciations of Washington, accusing nan United States of imperial aggression and calling for Maduro’s contiguous release.

The divided astatine nan U.N. mirrored nan breakdown astatine CELAC, wherever governments progressively look unwilling to speak pinch 1 sound connected Venezuela, moreover arsenic they extremity short of endorsing U.S. subject force.

According to Maldonado, "Governments are progressively forced to take betwixt defending grounded autocracies, corruption and repression aliases responding to their ain citizens," she said. "More governments are unwilling to transportation that burden."

DEMOCRATS LABEL TRUMP'S VENEZUELA OPERATION AN 'IMPEACHABLE OFFENSE'

Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro delivers a reside during a unit nickname ceremonial astatine nan Jose Maria Cordova Military Cadet School successful Bogota connected March 11, 2025. At nan United Nations, countries divided sharply aft nan seizure of Nicolás Maduro, pinch immoderate backing U.S.-led action while others warned it group "an highly vulnerable precedent for nan full world community." (Raul Arboleda/AFP via Getty Images)

Maldonado described Maduro’s seizure arsenic a break pinch decades of U.S. restraint successful nan region, "It shows that nan United States is deadly superior astir defending itself and nan hemisphere, astir stopping nan travel of drugs, dismantling cartel-state alliances and astir fighting backmost against nan power of China, Russia and Iran successful our neighborhood."

She based on that nan location reaction, divided though it is, reflects a broader ideological shift.

"There is simply a clear rightward displacement underway successful nan region, and it is simply a patient one," Maldonado said. "It reflects a increasing alignment astir nan halfway principles of freedom, liberty, individual responsibility, nationalist sovereignty and prosperity."

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Security unit defender nan Unasur building during nan IV Summit of nan Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, CELAC, successful Quito, Ecuador, Wednesday, Jan. 27, 2016. (AP Photo/Dolores Ochoa)

While critics astatine nan U.N. warned that U.S. action risks undermining world law, supporters reason nan position quo had already collapsed nether nan weight of Venezuela’s humanitarian and information crisis.

"Venezuela’s illness has taught nan region what happens erstwhile nan authorities becomes your everything," Maldonado said. "When nan authorities controls your job, your housing, your healthcare, your education, your courts and your information, state becomes conditional."