MOSCOW, November 24. /TASS/. While South American nations can hardly help Venezuela in its quarrel with the United States, close ally Russia may make Washington think twice about its aggression, Brazilian journalist and Eurasian geopolitical analyst Pepe Escobar said in an interview with TASS.
Commenting on the increased US military presence in the Caribbean and the alarming reports from the American press that the United States could soon strike drug cartel targets in Venezuela, the expert said that "unfortunately, the rest of South America can do little about that."
"You wouldn't expect Peru or Bolivia to defend Venezuela. That's not going to happen. Argentina is dead. Argentina is a colony. This is very worrying because they will have to cope on their own. But do not forget that they have the support of Russia and China behind them. And I'm sure there may be some indirect signals from Moscow to Washington: "Look, we have a strategic partnership with Venezuela. You'd better think twice before doing anything there."
He said that there is a certain logic in not allowing "the State Department to forget this, the people of [US President Donald] Trump's [UN] Security Council not to forget about it, to remind Trump himself of this. At the very least, maybe someone in the Pentagon will listen to this and say: ‘You don't want to start a war against the Russians over Venezuela.’ This is completely absurd."
The expert also said it’s not worth waiting for other protection from the largest players in the region. "Starting with Brazil, the most powerful country. Its president Lula da Silva is isolated. Lula opposes many right-wing forces, including his own Foreign Ministry, which does not like Venezuela. They are Atlanticists. So Lula has to fight with his own ministry. And that's why he doesn't say anything directly, doesn't condemn directly. He said, ‘No, now we will have missiles in South America. It's not very good.’ But he said it without naming names. Colombia. [President Gustavo] Petro is saying the right things, but unfortunately he doesn't have any leverage over Trump. So there are no options," Escobar concluded.
About escalation
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has repeatedly warned that his country is facing the most serious threat of invasion from the United States in the last 100 years. Washington accuses Venezuela of not doing enough to fight drug smuggling. The US Navy has deployed eight ships, one nuclear submarine, over 16,000 troops in the Caribbean, and since September has destroyed at least 20 high-speed boats in international waters, killing 76 people accused of drug smuggling from Venezuela. On November 16, the Pentagon said a strike group of American ships led by the aircraft carrier Gerald R. Ford had entered the Caribbean Sea.