Venezuela latest: China demands US

The warning landed abruptly. China publicly called on the United States to release Venezuela’s Nicolás Maduro just hours before his highly charged court appearance in New York.

At the same moment, Donald Trump escalated tensions elsewhere, mocking Colombia’s president as a “sick man” and suggesting his time in office was coming to an end.

In a single day, Washington found itself confronting two crises, both sparked by its own actions and rhetoric.

China’s demand was not mere diplomatic posturing. By openly pressing for Maduro’s release, Beijing challenged U.S. authority and tested its claims to legal and moral legitimacy on the global stage.

By linking its reputation to a polarizing Latin American figure, China signaled a willingness to contest U.S. influence not only in Asia or trade, but directly within the Western Hemisphere.

Trump’s comments toward Colombia ignited a separate backlash. What might have been dismissed as bluster instead carried a sharper edge, sounding to many Colombians like an implied threat.

Across the region, the episode revived long-standing anxieties that Washington still views Latin America as a strategic game board, rather than a collection of vulnerable democracies navigating pressure from competing global powers.