In Latin America, left- and right-wing administrations remain divided over Venezuela as President Nicholas Maduro begins a third term in office. Here’s a regional overview, where positions towards the crisis-affected country transcend ideological lines.
Venezuela’s supporters in Latin America
In Latin America, countries that have maintained diplomatic ties with Venezuela following the July 28 elections fall into two categories.
The first group comprises supporters and allies of the Maduro regime. These countries include Cuba, Bolivia, and Nicaragua. Along with Venezuela, they are members of the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA), a regional organization founded by former Presidents Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro to promote their shared agenda in Latin America, including socialism and anti-imperialism.
Led by former guerrilla fighter Daniel Ortega, Nicaragua remains a staunch supporter of Chavista Venezuela. Similarly, Bolivia, governed for two decades by the left-wing MAS party, aligns closely with Maduro’s regime. Additionally, Honduras, under leftist leader Xiomara Castro, has expressed sympathy toward Venezuela, congratulating Maduro on his “undeniable triumph, reaffirming his sovereignty and the historical legacy of Commander [Hugo Chavez].”
The second group consists of countries that officially maintain a stance of non-interference and neutrality. These are Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia.
In the early weeks of Venezuela’s latest political crisis, these three nations adopted a common position, issuing several joint statements calling for dialogue between Maduro’s regime and the opposition, as well as the release of voting records. While Brazil maintains diplomatic ties with Venezuela, it notably vetoed Venezuela’s potential membership into the BRICS bloc at the group’s most recent summit.
Colombia and Mexico, on the other hand, have announced their attendance at Maduro’s inauguration on January 10, implicitly recognizing him as president and election victor. Both nations cited non-interference and a desire to avoid isolating Venezuela as reasons for their decision.
Countries that have broken ties with the Maduro regime
In Latin America, 11 out of the region’s 19 countries have broken ties with Maduro’s Venezuela.
In Central America, El Salvador and Guatemala ceased diplomatic relations with Venezuela back in 2019, at the peak of the Venezuelan political crisis. These ties have not been resumed since, with current presidents Nayib Bukele and Bernardo Arevalo pointing to the July 28 elections as rigged and fraudulent.
Two days after the elections, which took place on July 28 2024, Maduro himself announced the rupture of diplomatic relations with several countries in the region: Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Panama, Peru, and Uruguay, following these countries’ official rejection of the official election results published by the regime. Paraguay joined the list yesterday, January 7, after President Santiago Peña received Edmundo González Urrutia, the leader of the Venezuelan opposition and self-proclaimed winner of the elections.
Argentina, in particular, has been highly critical of Maduro’s regime. Libertarian and ultraliberal President Javier Milei has harshly criticized the Venezuelan president, and also hosted González Urrutia in Buenos Aires a few days ago.
While Argentina, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Panama, Paraguay, and Uruguay are led by right-wing administrations, Chile and Peru are governed by left-wing governments, highlighting that the Venezuelan crisis goes beyond ideological affiliations.
In addition, Ecuador and Venezuela also broke diplomatic relations with Venezuela back in April 2024. This followed the controversial arrest of Ecuador’s former Vice President Jorge Glas inside the Mexican embassy in Quito, which sparked a regional diplomatic crisis. President Daniel Noboa later declared that he would not recognize the official results published by Maduro, claiming that there were no free elections in Venezuela.