President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva participates this Sunday (9) in Santa Marta, Colombia, in the summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (Celac) and the European Union (EU).
In an interview with international agencies in Belém (PA), last week, Lula assessed that the meeting is an appropriate environment to discuss the military movement of the United States (USA) in the Caribbean region and on the coast of Venezuela.
“It only makes sense to Celac meetingat this moment, if we are going to discuss this issue of American warships here in the seas of Latin America. I had the opportunity to speak with the president [Donald] Trump on this subject, telling him that Latin America is a zone of peace”, he said.
“We are a zone of peace, we don’t need war here. The problem that exists in Venezuela is a political problem that must be resolved in politics”, added Lula.
Understand
The summit takes place at a time of tension in the Caribbean, where the United States has sent ground troops, submarines and military ships. Donald Trump’s government even bombed vessels in the region, under the justification of combating drug trafficking routes that supply the North American country.
The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, argues that there are US interests in the country’s oil reserves and that military reinforcement in the region aims to remove him from power.
The meeting
The summit brings together leaders from the 27 countries of the European Union and the 33 CELAC nations, with a focus on resuming bi-regional dialogue and negotiations on the free trade agreement between Mercosur and the European Union.
This is the fourth summit between Celac and the EU and the tenth meeting between the two regions since 1999. The expectation is that, during the event, the so-called Santa Marta Declaration and the Road Map 2025-2027 will be consolidated, which aim to convert the bi-regional dialogue into concrete actions.
Colombia occupies the presidency pro tempore meeting in 2025, succeeding Honduras. The post will be taken over by Uruguay in 2026. Brazil resumed its participation in the summit in January 2023, after a three-year absence.
The meeting continues until Monday (10), but Lula only participates in the first day of the meeting and returns to Belém for the opening of the 30th United Nations Conference on Climate Change (COP30).
