On Monday (8), Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva criticized the U.S. military presence in the Caribbean during a virtual Brics summit.
“The presence of armed forces from the world’s largest power in the Caribbean Sea is a factor of tension incompatible with the region’s vocation for peace,” Lula said in his address at the meeting, which was convened by Brazil.
Lula stressed that Latin America and the Caribbean have been a region of peace since the 1968 signing of the Treaty of Tlatelolco, which established a ban on the use of nuclear weapons in the region.
The Brazilian leader made these remarks in reference to the recent U.S. military deployment in the Caribbean, which includes eight warships armed with missiles and a nuclear-powered submarine in waters near Venezuela.
Tensions escalated last week after U.S. forces attacked a boat that allegedly departed from Venezuela with 11 people on board, who, according to Washington, were drug traffickers.
Lula also urged Brics members to continue defending multilateralism “with one voice” in international forums, particularly at the United Nations. “Unilateralism will not lead us to achieve the goals of justice and prosperity,” he said.
The leftist politician called for Brics support for Brazil’s efforts to push for the expansion of the UN Security Council, a long-standing aspiration of the South American country.
Lula also pressed for cooperation on energy transition and sustainable development policies, emphasizing that “developing countries are the most affected by climate change.” However, he defended the continued use of fossil fuels as a means to finance the energy transition.
Since the start of the trade war triggered by the United States through tariff increases, Lula has stepped up contacts with his Brics partners, especially China, Russia and India.
U.S. President Donald Trump has imposed particularly heavy tariffs on Brazil and India, two traditional U.S. allies, in both cases citing political reasons.
