By Fernando Cardoso, Ricardo Brito and Luciana Magalhaes
SAO PAULO/BRASILIA, Jan 3 (Reuters) - Brazil's government on Saturday condemned the U.S. military attack on Venezuela and the capture of its leader as the crossing of "an unacceptable line," while Brazilian officials were closely watching any unusual movement of refugees at the border with its neighbor.
"These acts represent a grave affront to Venezuela's sovereignty and yet another extremely dangerous precedent for the entire international community," President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said in a post on X.
He also called for a "vigorous" response from the United Nations, adding that Brazil remains open to promoting dialogue and cooperation.
Earlier on Saturday, the U.S. attacked Venezuela and deposed President Nicolas Maduro, in Washington's most direct intervention in Latin America since the 1989 invasion of Panama.
U.S. President Donald Trump called it one of the most successful military operations in U.S. history.
"This was one of the most stunning, effective and powerful displays of American military might and competence in American history," Trump told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort.
Brazilian officials held an emergency cabinet meeting on Saturday to discuss the situation, with a potential higher influx of Venezuelan refugees at the border among the top issues.
Lula, who was out of the capital Brasilia due to the holiday season, attended the meeting virtually.
In a statement released later, Brazil's foreign ministry said that there has been no unusual movement at the border, one of the key crossing points for Venezuelan refugees in the region and where Brazil has run operations to assist them since 2018.
Brazil has welcomed more than 150,000 Venezuelans over this period, the Brazilian government reported last year.
Northern states of Roraima and Amazonas are the only Brazilian states that share a border with Venezuela, with more than 70% of refugees arriving through the former, Roraima Governor Antonio Denarium told Reuters in an interview.
He said that although the border is open, Venezuela is preventing its citizens from leaving, with Brazilians crossing without restrictions. Reuters was not able to immediately confirm the status of the border crossing or reach the Venezuelan government for comment.
Brazil's foreign ministry also noted that Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira had spoken with his Venezuelan counterpart on Saturday. It did not provide further details.
Lula had previously said that an armed intervention in Venezuela would be a "humanitarian catastrophe", and has repeatedly offered for Brazil to mediate disputes between the countries.
(Reporting by Fernando Cardoso and Luciana Magalhaes in Sao Paulo, and Ricardo Brito in Brasilia; Editing by Toby Chopra and Lisa Shumaker)
