Brazil’s military keeps dialogue open with Venezuelan generals

Bloomberg

Brazilian Armed Forces maintain an open communication channel with Venezuela’s military even though Brasilia no longer recognizes Nicolas Maduro as president of the neighbouring Latin American country, according to Brazil’s Defense Minister.
“It’s always useful to maintain this channel,” General Fernando Azevedo said at an interview in his office. “It’s part of the military diplomacy.”
The dialogue is held through military attaches both countries maintain in Brasilia and Caracas, respectively, said Azevedo, a four-star Army general with experience in peace-keeping in Haiti. It has been useful for Brazil to gauge the loyalty of Venezuela’s top commanders to Maduro, despite international pressure for them to switch sides and close ranks behind National Assembly President Juan Guaido.
While Guaido has been recognized as the legitimate leader of Venezuela by the US and most of Latin America, as well as several European countries and Japan, Maduro and his generals have dug in deep and showed no intention of giving up. Attempts to get humanitarian aid to starving Venezuelans through the borders of Brazil and Colombia have failed, even as international sanctions further squeeze an economy in shambles.