Joesley Batista helped broker a meeting between Lula and Trump, says source
BRASÍLIA/SÃO PAULO, 6 May (Reuters) – Brazilian billionaire Joesley Batista played a key role in organizing the meeting between presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Donald Trump scheduled for Thursday in Washington, a person with direct knowledge of the negotiations told Reuters.
A jet belonging to the Batista family company J&F is scheduled to fly from Colorado to Washington this Wednesday, according to data from plane tracking website FlightAware.
The meeting between Lula and Trump had been planned since January, when the two leaders spoke by phone, but had been put aside while the White House focused its attention on the war in Iran. Last week, however, US officials got in touch offering the meeting for Thursday.
Lula must try to convince Trump to avoid classifying factions as terrorists
Brazilian authorities fear that the eventual classification will pose risks to national sovereignty.
Joesley’s involvement in brokering the meeting highlights the growing power of business leaders in setting the Trump administration’s agenda.
In January, Joesley met with Venezuela’s interim president, Delcy Rodríguez, before and after meeting with US officials, whom he sought to reassure about Caracas’ willingness to open its oil and gas sector to investment.
Late last year, the same aircraft tracked this Wednesday en route to Washington had flown to Venezuela’s capital, amid press reports that Joesley was trying to persuade then-Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro to resign.
A second source confirmed that Joesley and his brother Wesley are in the United States, and added that Wesley initially traveled to Colorado. The source was unable to comment on their involvement in the negotiations surrounding the meeting between Lula and Trump.
When contacted, J&F said it would not comment.
Meat producer JBS, controlled by J&F, has significant operations in the United States.
Pilgrim’s Pride, a US-based poultry producer majority-owned by JBS, donated US$5 million to Trump’s 2025 inauguration committee, the largest individual contribution disclosed to date.
(Reporting by Marcela Ayres, in Brasília, and Gabriel Araujo and Luciana Magalhães, in São Paulo)
