The President of Brazil Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva held a meeting with the US President Donald Trump during the 47th Summit of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), where they addressed regional issues and the discussion of tariffs. In addition, the Brazilian head of state offered Trump to be the liaison between Venezuela and the United States (USA) to reduce tensions between both nations.
“President Lula raised the issue and said that Latin America and South America, specifically where we are, is a region of peace and he offered to be a contact, an interlocutor, as he has been in the past, with Venezuela, to seek solutions that are mutually acceptable and correct,” said Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira.
Tension between the US and Venezuela has increased in recent weeks. The US army has attacked at least ten vessels in the Caribbean Pacific region, causing the death of at least 43 people, under the pretext of combating drug trafficking, reports the Brasil 247 news portal.
The United States confirmed the deployment of the Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier, the largest in the world, in South American waters, along with destroyers and escort fighter aircraft, in one of the country’s boldest decisions regarding the southern hemisphere region since the Cold War. The naval deployment occurs after joint maneuvers with Trinidad and Tobago, a Caribbean country located a few kilometers from the Venezuelan coast, which has intensified tension in the region.
Venezuela reaction
In response, the President of the Republic, Nicolás Maduro, reiterated that the country is completely free of drug trafficking and highlighted the progress made in Venezuela since the expulsion of the United States Drug Control Administration (DEA).
Maduro reiterated that the break with the US agency marked a turning point in the fight against drug trafficking. «Since we broke with the DEA, the largest drug cartel in the world, Venezuela has been able to advance its strategy autonomously and sovereignly. And today, Venezuela is a country completely free of drug trafficking and everything else,” he stated.
Brazilian diplomats warn that any offensive against Venezuela could trigger an unprecedented humanitarian crisis.
