247 – The president of Colombia, Gustavo Petro, made an appeal this Friday (17) for the governments of Latin America and the Caribbean to unite “now, to reject and react” to any type of aggression against Venezuela, which he defined as “the homeland of Simón Bolívar”.

“Venezuela belongs to the Venezuelans,” Petro wrote on his official X account (formerly Twitter), calling on countries in the region to act “beyond rhetoric” in the face of growing threats from Washington.

The statement comes amid escalating tensions sparked by US threats of new sanctions and military action against the government of President Nicolas Maduro, under the pretext of combating drug trafficking.

Defense of regional sovereignty and criticism of imperial violence

Petro stated that military intervention against Venezuela would be tantamount to aggression against all of Latin America, and denounced what he called the"barbaric desire to launch missiles at unarmed people" in the Caribbean. The Colombian president emphasized that the region must respond in a coordinated and firm manner to any attempt to violate the principle of people's sovereignty.

In the same post, Petro shared a video of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who also criticized Washington's threats.

"The Venezuelan people are masters of their own destiny. And no president of another country should have a say in what Venezuela or Cuba will be like," Lula declared in a recent speech.

Petro and Lula's speeches reinforce the alignment between Brazil and Colombia in defending the self-determination of peoples and Latin America as a zone of peace, in accordance with the commitment made by Celac.

US intensifies offensive in the Caribbean

In recent weeks, the Donald Trump administration has sent warships to the southern Caribbean, claiming to be fighting drug cartels, but analysts consider the move part of a military pressure operation against Caracas. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi even doubled the reward for information leading to the arrest of Maduro, who has been accused without evidence of leading an alleged drug trafficking cartel.

Since the operation began, five vessels have been bombed by US forces, resulting in at least 21 deaths, which the Colombian government has classified as"murders." International organizations, such as the UN, have declared that"people should not die from using, selling, or consuming drugs," condemning the escalation of US-sponsored violence.

Latin America reacts in defense of peace

After the attacks, regional blocs such as Celac and the Bolivarian Alliance for the Peoples of Our America (ALBA) called for respect for the declaration of Latin America and the Caribbean as a zone of peace, approved in 2014 in Havana.

President Nicolás Maduro stated that his country is the victim of “a multifaceted war” orchestrated by the United States, whose objective is to promote a “regime change” and recolonize the continent.

A new Latin American axis for sovereignty

Petro's speech consolidates South America's geopolitical repositioning, led by progressive governments that advocate regional integration and reject any form of foreign military intervention. With Lula's explicit support, Petro has become one of the continent's leading voices for peace and sovereignty, in direct opposition to Washington's imperial policies.