Colombian President Gustavo Petro said his government has deployed "public forces" at the border with Venezuela following the U.S. operation in the country that ended with the capture of authoritarian President Nicolas Maduro and his wife Cilia Flores.
In a social media publication, Petro also said that Colombia deployed "assistance forces" in case of a "massive refugee influx."
"The Colombian government rejects this aggression to Venezuela's and Latin America's sovereignty. Internal conflicts among peoples are solved by those people in peace. This is the principle of self-determination of the peoples that is the base of the UN system," Petro said in another passage of the post.
Acabamos de terminar consejo de seguridad nacional desde las 3 am.
— Gustavo Petro (@petrogustavo) January 3, 2026
Se despliega la fuerza pública en la frontera, se despliega toda la fuerza asistencial que dispongamos en caso de entrada masiva de refugiados.
La embajada de Colombia en Venezuela está activa a llamadas de…
"I invite the Venezuelan people to find the path of civil dialogue and unity. There is no nation without sovereignty. Peace is the path and dialogue between the peoples is fundamental for national unity."
Other countries in the region and across the world also condemned the actions. One of them was Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who posted a statement saying the country is making an "urgent call to respect international law, as well as principles and purposes of the UN Charter, and to cease any act of aggression against the Venezuelan government and people."
The document goes on to say that "Latin America and the Caribbean is a zone of peace, built on the basis of mutual respect, peaceful controversies resolution and the proscription of the threat and use of force, so any military action puts regional stability at great risk."
"Mexico emphatically reiterates that dialogue and negotiation are the only legitimate and efficient ways to solve existing differences, and reaffirms its willingness to support any effort to facilitate dialogue, mediation that can contribute to preserving regional peace and avoid a confrontation."
The attack has been also condemned by Russia and Iran, two allies of Maduro. Moscow called the development an "act of armed aggression against Venezuela."
"This is deeply concerning and condemnable," Moscow added in a statement on Saturday. "The pretexts used to justify such actions are unfounded."
Russia also called for the prevention of "further escalation" and backed calls for an emergency meeting of the UN Security Council.
Iran also condemned the development, saying it was a "flagrant violation of the national sovereignty and territorial integrity of" the South American country.
President Donald Trump has said Maduro and Flores were "flown out of the country" on Saturday following a "large scale strike" in Venezuela.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a post of her own that Maduro and Flores would "soon face the full wrath of American justice on American soil in American courts."
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