US Venezuela attack Reactions

US Senate votes against Trump's military action

The US Senate has voted in favor of a bill to stop Trump from further military intervention in Venezuela without congressional authorization, reports the AP.

All Democrats and five Republicans voted in favor, which meant 52 to 47.

The bill will undergo another round of voting and then be sent to the House of Representatives. There is basically no chance that it will become law because Trump himself must sign it.

- It is time for Congress to take control of this kind of military action, says Democratic senator and initiator Tim Kaine.

Macron: US is violating international law

The US is turning its back on its allies and abandoning international law, says French President Emmanuel Macron according to Bloomberg.

France and Europe now find themselves involved in a "very confusing game," he continues.

– Every day people wonder if Greenland will be invaded, if Canada will be threatened with becoming the 51st state or if Taiwan will be surrounded even more.

Analysis: Putin gains more than he loses from US attack on Venezuela

Vladimir Putin has been conspicuously silent about US actions in Venezuela, writes Nathan Hodge for CNN.

In some ways it is embarrassing for the Russian president – ​​Venezuela has Russian weapons, and he himself has failed to take Ukraine – but there is also a silver lining, he continues.

“Trump’s assertion of a sphere of interest in Latin America – the so-called Donroe Doctrine – could give grist to the Kremlin leader’s rhetorical mill regarding his own imperialist quest to dismantle an independent Ukraine.”

Frida Ghitis is on the same track in World Politics Review – in the long run, Putin gains more from Maduro’s abduction than he loses, she writes.

By only talking about Venezuela’s oil and dismissing the opposition – led by Peace Prize winner María Corina Machado – the US is throwing away the soft power it previously gained through respect for democratic processes and the will of the people abroad, according to Ghitis.

In addition, the rift between the US and its allies grew when Trump neglected to seek support before the attack on Caracas, she continues.

“It is a gift to Russia and the US’s other enemies and rivals.”