President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva met for the first time with the three military commanders on Thursday afternoon after the United States invaded Venezuela to arrest dictator Nicolás Maduro on January 3. The Minister of Defense, José Múcio, also participated in the meeting, which lasted for almost two hours at Palácio do Planalto.
Although the meeting was not scheduled to deal exclusively with the situation in Venezuela, the topic was part of the conversation. The commanders of the Army, Tomás Paiva, the Air Force, Marcelo Damasceno, and the Navy, Marcos Olsen, presented Lula with some necessary investments to equalize the three forces in the face of the new geopolitical situation and reinforce the country’s defense system.
During the meeting, Tomás Paiva listed some of the country’s vulnerabilities. The Army commander said there is a need to reinforce the anti-aircraft defense system, invest in a fleet of drones and modernize the force’s helicopters.
Analysts estimate that, after the American invasion to capture Maduro, the world is experiencing a new global order. In an interview with columnist Miriam Leitão published this Friday, Mucio said that “we thought that if we were within our rights, we were protected”. “The United States, with what it did in Venezuela, showed that ‘you are within your rights, if I want, I will come in, I have more strength than you’”, stated the Minister of Defense.
Furthermore, a Quaest survey released this week showed that 58% of Brazilians fear that something like what happened in Venezuela will happen in Brazil.
Since the American invasion on the 3rd, the Armed Forces have monitored the Brazilian border with Venezuela in Roraima. The Ministry of Defense reported that there are 10,000 men in the region since Venezuela began threatening to invade Guyana to take over the Essequibo region.
Continues after advertising
