Earlier on Saturday, the U.S. attacked Venezuela and deposed Maduro, President Donald Trump said, in Washington’s most direct intervention in Latin America since the 1989 invasion of Panama. Lula had previously said that an armed intervention in Venezuela would be a “humanitarian catastrophe”, and has repeatedly offered for Brazil to mediate disputes between the countries. After a brief closure, the border was reopened, Roraima state Governor Antonio Denarium told Reuters. Roraima is one of two Brazilian states—along with Amazonas—to share borders with Venezuela and receives around 70% of all Venezuelan refugees that arrive in Brazil, the governor said. There were no official reports of a higher influx of refugees at the border ahead of its closing due to the military escalation in Venezuela.

Source: Punch January 03, 2026 23:37 UTC