Sao Paulo, Brazil – Venezuela temporarily closed its border with Brazil following the early morning US attack on Caracas, in which US forces also “captured” President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores.
The border crossing between the Brazilian city of Pacaraima and Santa Elena de Uairen in Venezuela had been closed on the Venezuelan side for about five hours, preventing citizens from entering Brazil, a Brazilian military official told Al Jazeera.
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“There was no formal protocol from Venezuela on entry and exit criteria. The fact is that Brazilians are allowed to leave, while Venezuelans face restrictions. But this could change at any time,” said the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he is not authorized to speak on the subject.
The head of Brazil's Federal Police also announced the temporary closure, and the governor of Roraima state told Reuters that the border had been reopened after the brief closure.
Brazil's government said it is monitoring the border and has sent military personnel to the region to reinforce security.
“The Minister of Defense indicated that there is no abnormal activity on the border between Brazil and Venezuela, that it will continue to be monitored, and that he is in contact with the Governor of Roraima,” reads a statement from the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Venezuelans constitute the largest foreign population in Brazil, according to the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. There are 77,563 immigrants from the country living in the state of Roraima alone. In total, some 8 million Venezuelans have fled their homes in the last decade, and more than 6 million have resettled in other Latin American countries.
“I think it is very possible that there will be an exodus of Venezuelans to Brazil and, in fact, we are already seeing concrete signs of it,” Jessica León Cedeño, a Venezuelan journalist living in Sao Paulo, told Al Jazeera.
“Millions of people have left the country in search of better living conditions and opportunities.”
Lula says US attacks could 'destabilize' region
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Saturday that US President Donald Trump's actions inside Venezuela were “unacceptable.”
“The bombings on Venezuelan territory and the capture of its president cross an unacceptable line,” Lula wrote in X. “These acts represent a serious affront to the sovereignty of Venezuela and another extremely dangerous precedent for the entire international community.”
Brazil's leader has urged restraint for months amid a growing U.S. military buildup off the coast of Venezuela.
Analysts worry that Maduro's removal could plunge Venezuela into chaos, which could result in another wave of mass migration, as seen in 2019 after a failed attempt to remove Maduro.
Joao Carlos Jarochinski Silva, a professor of international relations at the Federal University of Roraima, said a potential wave of migration would depend on multiple factors, including whether Washington continues its military campaign inside the country and whether what remains of the Maduro regime will resist.
“What is the resilience capacity of Chavismo within Venezuela?” said Jarochinski Silva, referring to the political movement named after former President Hugo Chávez. “This could have really worrying consequences, but given the current scenario, there is no context for fear.”
He added that Trump has so far focused on applauding his military's action inside Venezuela and has failed to address key humanitarian concerns. Earlier this year, the Trump administration cut funding to the US government's main foreign aid agency, USAID, severely affecting Venezuela's neighbors Brazil and Colombia.
“The United States has been cutting humanitarian resources lately,” he said, adding that US military actions inside the country will have consequences. “For example, refugees and other people who may be affected by this. He does not commit to this agenda at any time.”
