AMLO Breaks Retirement to Challenge Trump on Venezuela

Mexico City — Former President Andrés Manuel López Obrador broke his retirement from public life on Saturday, January 3, 2026, to speak out against United States intervention in Venezuela. The condemnation came following the attack, capture of President Nicolás Maduro, and Donald Trump’s announcement that his administration would administer the country.

The Condemnation: Tyranny, Kidnapping, and a Warning to Trump

Despite his retirement from political life, former President López Obrador published a message on platform X directed directly at Donald Trump. The Tabasco native stated that his libertarian convictions prevented him from remaining silent in the face of what he called a “presumptuous attack on the sovereignty of the Venezuelan people” and the “kidnapping” of its president, Nicolás Maduro.

The former head of the federal executive was emphatic in directing a warning to Donald Trump:

• He asked him to act prudently and not be carried away by the bellicose sectors within his own country.
• “President Trump: do not fall into self-complacency or listen to the song of the sirens. Send the hawks to hell; you have the capacity to act with practical judgment,” he stated in his message.
• López Obrador warned that what is presented today as a military or political triumph could become a far-reaching defeat. “Do not forget that today’s ephemeral victory could be tomorrow’s resounding defeat. Politics is not imposition,” he emphasized.

The former president maintained that historical figures like Simón Bolívar and Abraham Lincoln “would never have endorsed a policy of international imposition.” He asserted that neither would accept the U.S. government acting as a “world tyranny.”

The Juarist Principle and Unconditional Support for Claudia Sheinbaum

López Obrador recalled the fundamental principle of external political relations taught by Benito Juárez in the 19th century: “Respect for the rights of others is peace.”

In his statement, the former president emphasized his identity as Mexican and Latin American, taking the opportunity to express his absolute support for the head of the federal executive:

• “I am Mexican with great pride, but also Latin American,” he wrote.
• He reiterated: “I unconditionally support my president Claudia Sheinbaum.”

Before concluding his message, directed at Trump, the former president insisted on the need to reflect on the historical consequences of these decisions, adding the final phrase: “For now, I am not sending you a hug.”

“I am retired from politics, but my libertarian convictions prevent me from remaining silent in the face of the presumptuous attack on the sovereignty of the Venezuelan people and the kidnapping of its president. Neither Bolívar nor Lincoln would accept that the United States government acted as a tyranny…” — Andrés Manuel (@lopezobrador_) January 3, 2026

The Official Position of Mexico: Sheinbaum Defends Non-Intervention

On the same Saturday, January 3, 2026, President Claudia Sheinbaum spoke about the intervention in Venezuela. The president stated that she has already been contacted by leaders from other countries and anticipated that a joint regional statement is being prepared, without specifying which nations will participate.

The president reiterated that Mexico condemns this intervention. She maintained that the multilateral framework must prevail, citing Article Two of the United Nations Charter, which clearly establishes that “there should be no military intervention, but a multilateral solution within the framework of the United Nations.”

Sheinbaum also stated that her government had already issued a previous position with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (SRE). Mexico’s foreign policy is guided by constitutional principles, in particular:

• Non-intervention.
• Peaceful resolution of disputes.

“We defend the Estrada Doctrine and what represents the foreign policy of our country, which is established in the Constitution, which is against interventions and in favor of the peaceful solution of any conflict,” she detailed.

Regarding the bilateral scenario with the United States, and following Donald Trump’s statements about drug trafficking and the influence of cartels in Mexico, Sheinbaum assured that the security relationship is good. She summarized her administration’s stance: “Collaboration, coordination, but not subordination.”

The reappearance of a former Mexican president to confront a world power at a time of crisis reveals that ideological convictions, once sown, persist beyond political retirement. Can a warning based on historical principles and Juarist philosophy deter an imposition of force in the global sphere?