President of Brazil criticized the United States’ military escalation against Nicolás Maduro’s regime and said that ‘no other head of state has to make a decision’ about the Caribbean country
The crisis has reignited tensions between the governments of Brazil and the United States and threatens to interfere in negotiations to end the so-called package of sanctions and surcharges imposed by Washington on Brazilian products since August. During a speech at the PCdoB congress, in Brasília, this Thursday (16), the president (PT) stated that “the Venezuelan people are masters of their destiny” and criticized foreign interference in the neighboring country. Without directly quoting the American president, Lula said that “no other head of state has to give an opinion about what Venezuela should be like or”.
The speech comes amid the United States’ military buildup in the region. The Trump administration confirmed this week that it authorized secret operations to be carried out in Venezuelan territory with the aim of overthrowing the president, accused by the White House of links to drug trafficking. Washington also sent warships to the coast of Venezuela and intensified attacks against vessels that, according to the US, were involved in .
In reaction, Caracas put troops on alert and called up civilians for military training. Maduro stated that he “does not want a war in the Caribbean or South America” and accused Trump of trying to provoke a regime change to seize Venezuelan oil.
Behind the scenes, the Brazilian government sees the worsening of the crisis as a threat to bilateral dialogue on tariffs and sanctions. According to Planalto’s assistants, Lula intends to argue, in a face-to-face meeting with Trump, that any military action in Venezuela would destabilize the entire region and strengthen organized crime.
Rapprochement after meeting at the UN
The chancellor classified the meeting he had this Thursday with the American Secretary of State as “great and productive”. According to him, the conversations were constructive and maintained the “spirit of cooperation” demonstrated in the recent call between Lula and Trump. Even so, Itamaraty reiterated Brazil’s position against military interventions and defended a “diplomatic solution” to the Venezuelan crisis.
The Brazilian government’s expectation is that Lula and Trump will meet by the end of the year to try to advance the normalization of trade relations. There is a possibility that the meeting will take place in Malaysia, during the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) meeting, on October 26th and 27th, or at the Summit of the Americas, in December, in the Dominican Republic.
The rapprochement between the two countries took place after Trump’s nod to Lula during the UN General Assembly, in New York, at the end of September. In his speech, the American president revealed that he spoke briefly with the Brazilian and that he had felt “chemistry between the two”, in addition to praising the PT member. After that, Lula softened his tone against the United States and even spoke, in a relaxed tone,.
While the negotiations continue, Venezuela consolidates itself as a new point of friction between the two presidents — an issue that threatens to test the diplomatic rapprochement between Brasilia and Washington.
*Published by Felipe Dantas
*Report produced with the help of AI
