In an interview today on cable news, Brazilian Vice President Hamilton Mourao has said that Brazil is insisting on a non-violent resolution to the Venezuela power struggle. Moreover, he said that under no circumstances would Brazil allow the United States to use their territory for a military invasion.



This is an important position to take, because it is not entirely theoretical. The Trump Administration has been openly talking up the possibility of invading Venezuela for weeks now, and on Monday, Vice President Mike Pence reiterated that invasion remains on the table.



It’s not clear that the US was envisioning using Brazil as a base of operations for that, however. Early suggestions have been that Colombia would serve as the launching pad for such an attack, with John Bolton talking up large US deployments there.



Which isn’t to say that Brazil’s opposition doesn’t have any meaning. Brazil is a close US ally, and had been supportive of the push for regime change in Venezuela. If that excludes support for a US war, it could be a big change in the administration’s expectations on regional reaction to an invasion.





Author: Jason Ditz Jason Ditz is news editor of Antiwar.com. View all posts by Jason Ditz