US Attack on Venezuela Risks ‘Vietnam-Style’ Regional Conflict, Warns Lula Adviser
London, UK, December 9, 2025
The South American Powder Keg: US Attack on Venezuela Risks ‘Vietnam-Style’ Regional Conflict, Warns Lula Adviser Amid Rising Tensions
Headline Points:
• Celso Amorim, chief foreign policy adviser to Brazilian President Lula da Silva, has issued a dire warning that a US Attack on Venezuela Risks ‘Vietnam-Style’ Regional Conflict.
• The warning follows President Trump’s recent decision to close Venezuelan airspace, which Amorim called an “act of war.”
• The Brazilian diplomat cautioned that a military intervention would inevitably draw other Latin American nations into an armed conflict, destabilizing the entire region.
• Amorim suggested that even opponents of Nicolás Maduro’s regime would likely join a national resistance against a foreign invasion.
• The comments underscore the deep concern in South America over the escalating and increasingly belligerent stance of the U.S. toward Caracas.
The already volatile relationship between the United States and Venezuela has reached a critical point, prompting a dramatic warning from a leading regional figure.
Celso Amorim, the chief foreign policy adviser to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, cautioned the international community that a US Attack on Venezuela Risks ‘Vietnam-Style’ Regional Conflict, potentially spiraling out of control and dragging the entire South American continent into a protracted war zone.
This dire assessment follows President Donald Trump’s recent, highly aggressive move to order the closure of Venezuelan airspace, an action Amorim explicitly labelled an “act of war” in his remarks to the media.
The heart of Amorim’s concern, expressed in his capacity as a top diplomat for Brazil, is the predictable, overwhelming regional backlash that any U.S. military intervention would trigger.
He predicted that even citizens who actively oppose the authoritarian regime of Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro would be inclined to join a national resistance effort against a foreign invasion.
“I know South America our whole continent exists because of resistance against foreign invaders,” Amorim stated, warning that any US Attack on Venezuela would rekindle a strong anti-American sentiment across Latin America, reminiscent of the Cold War era.
This resistance, he suggested, could make an intervention profoundly messy and difficult to contain, leading to a protracted, asymmetrical conflict akin to the Vietnam-Style war in Southeast Asia decades ago.
The warnings come amid growing speculation that President Trump’s administration is considering military strikes inside Venezuela in a clear attempt to topple the Maduro government or provoke a military rebellion against him.
The increasing belligerence from Washington has heightened the anxiety in Brasília and other South American capitals, which vehemently oppose external military interference.
Amorim, while speaking in his personal capacity, reiterated President Lula’s desire for a negotiated solution and a peaceful, internal transition of power in Caracas, emphasizing that “If every questionable election triggered an invasion, the world would be on fire.”
The Lula Adviser’s stark analogy highlights the immediate danger of this geopolitical flashpoint.
The prospect of a regional conflict involving a superpower and a Latin American nation is the “last thing” the continent needs, according to Amorim, who fears the global involvement that such an escalation would inevitably attract.
His powerful public statement is a direct plea to the Trump administration to step back from the brink of military action and seek a diplomatic off-ramp, ensuring that the political crisis in Caracas does not metastasize into a humanitarian and military disaster for the whole region.
