Bolsonaro Rules Out Venezuela Intervention, Citing Vietnam War

(Bloomberg) -- Brazil’s President Jair Bolsonaro ruled out a military intervention in neighboring Venezuela, noting that its challenging topography risks embroiling any invading force in a quagmire.

“Any military intervention there from any country would be a Vietnam,” he said, referring to the bloody U.S.-led conflict in South-East Asia, in an interview to the Catholic TV station Rede Vida on Wednesday night.

According to Bolsonaro, support from Cuba, China and Russia continues to underpin the position of President Nicolas Maduro, despite the country’s extreme political and social problems.

“There are 60,000 Cubans, there is Chinese interest, there is a Russian interest that has invested money there, there are drug trafficking generals, terrorist groups, militias,” he said. “Those interests inside are what make Maduro strong.”

Bolsonaro also criticized the lack of investment in Brazil’s armed forces over recent decades and praised his U.S. counterpart, President Donald Trump, for taking economic measures to punish Maduro.

To contact the reporters on this story: Simone Iglesias in Brasília at spiglesias@bloomberg.net;Samy Adghirni in Brasilia Newsroom at sadghirni@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Juan Pablo Spinetto at jspinetto@bloomberg.net, Bruce Douglas

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