Colombia Suggests Bolsonaro Alliance to Overthrow Maduro

Despite claims by Colombia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs that Colombia does not plan to  support a potential military intervention in Venezuela led by newly-elected President Jair Bolsonaro, an anonymous top official in the Colombian government has stated that “if Bolsonaro helps take down Maduro, he will have Colombia’s help.”

According to the anonymous source, Colombian President Iván Duque, who considers Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro a dictator, has not ruled out the possibility of military intervention, although he does not want his nation to be the first to attack. “If Trump or Bolsonaro are the first ones to step foot in Venezuela, Colombia will not hesitate to back them up,” added Duque.

While Duque’s predecessor, Juan Manuel Santos, rejected plans of potential military intervention, the president made his opposition to Maduro clear during his campaign for office and has been increasingly outspoken about the mass Venezuelan exodus into the country.

The anonymous source ended their statement by asserting that the Colombian nation can “no longer support an intensification of the Venezuelan diaspora.”

It is estimated that over one million Venezuelans have entered Colombia in the past 18 months, an influx that reportedly cost around 0.5 percent of the host country’s GDP, a value amounting to roughly $1.5 billion.

Duque has also urged other countries to diplomatically isolate Venezuela in order to “restore democracy” to what he believes has become a dictatorship, although nations such as Chile and Argentina have maintained their vehement opposition to any kind of military intervention in Venezuela.

The news of a potential Brazil-Colombia alliance comes after center-right and rightist leaders of Latin America, including Duque, congratulated Bolsonaro on his victory. The continent has experienced a right-wing wave in recent years, in which both Duque and Bolsonaro play a part. This political shift comes after the “Pink Tide” of the early 2000s, during which a majority of left-wing governments come to power in Latin America.

President Maduro has previously accused both the United States and Colombia of trying to ruin his administration, which is not recognized as legitimate by the majority of Western countries. President Duque, however, was unequivocal in his criticism, calling Maduro’s government “the worst dictatorship Latin America has ever known.”