Poll Reveals Strong Latin American Support for US Military Action Against Maduro
Bloomberg News
RIO
EnergiesNet.com 02 12 2025
Latin Americans would broadly support the use of US military force to oust Venezuelan strongman Nicolás Maduro and take on transnational drug cartels, even as they remain largely skeptical of Donald Trump’s return to the White House.
Majorities in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Mexico say they would back US military intervention against Maduro after the Venezuelan opposition accused him of stealing July’s presidential election, according to LatAm Pulse, a survey conducted by AtlasIntel for Bloomberg News and released Tuesday. In every nation but Mexico, they also favor force against drug cartels.
The findings are striking for a region that still holds painful memories of Washington’s meddling during the Cold War. But while Trump has backed aggression toward Venezuela before and is pledging to target drug gangs now, the results appear to reflect fatigue with Maduro and cartel-related violence rather than support for the new US leader.
Latin Americans, in fact, are largely pessimistic about Trump’s return, holding mixed views of the US, a negative image of the president himself and strident opposition to many of his policies — especially threats to “take back” the Panama Canal.
Support for US military action against Venezuela is highest in the nations that have been most directly affected by the exodus caused by Maduro’s autocratic and economically ruinous rule. Roughly 81% of Colombians, 73% of Chileans and 61% of Brazilians back his ouster by force.
Colombians are also most likely to back US intervention against drug cartels — findings that fall in line with the fact that they hold the most positive view of Trump and the US among their peers. The poll, which took place just after President Gustavo Petro’s spat over deportations with his American counterpart, found that half of Colombians see Trump favorably, making it the only of the five nations where he is regarded more positively than negatively.
Mexico sits at the opposite end of the spectrum. Less than a quarter of Mexicans view the US positively compared to 61% who regard it poorly. Trump earns negative marks from 60% of the US’s southern neighbors, who have already faced threats of steep tariffs, border crackdowns and his move to designate some Mexican drug cartels as foreign terrorist organizations. A majority of Mexicans — 54% — oppose the use of military force against the criminal groups.
After leveling heavy sanctions against Venezuela and promising to oust Maduro during his prior term, Trump has yet to define a clear approach to the country this time around. Instead, he has spent weeks asserting his desire to reassume control of the Panama Canal and refusing to rule out the possibility of military force to do so.
The US built the vital trade route more than a century ago but ceded control to Panama at the end of 1999 in part because it had become a source of deep regional tension. The poll suggests any attempt to reassert control would again cause problems for Washington: Majorities in all five nations view a takeover as negative, led by Mexicans at 85% and Colombians, who share a border with Panama, at 67%.
The region is also in poor spirits about what Trump’s return will mean for their countries, with a majority of Chileans and Mexicans and pluralities in the other three nations expecting him to have a negative impact. At least 40% in each country say they fear the effects of tariffs on their economies.
bloomberg.com 02 11 2025
