Use of military force is once again part of everyday life in Latin America, says Lula

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said this Sunday, 9th, that “the threat of using military force has once again become part of everyday life in Latin America and the Caribbean”, in an indirect sign of the threats promoted by the United States government against Venezuela. He stated that “democracies do not fight crime in violation of international law.”

Donald Trump’s government has used the fight against drug trafficking as a pretext to intensify its military presence in the Caribbean. In recent months, it has destroyed boats traveling through the region, claiming they were traffickers’ vessels. The crew were killed.

Lula’s speech was given at the Celac-European Union Summit in Santa Marta, Colombia. The Brazilian president said that Latin America is a “region of peace” and intends to remain that way.

“The threat of using military force has once again become part of everyday life in Latin America and the Caribbean. Old rhetorical maneuvers are recycled to justify illegal interventions. We are a region of peace and we want to remain at peace. Democracies do not fight crime in violation of international law”, he declared.

According to Lula, “democracy also succumbs when crime corrupts institutions, empties public spaces and destroys families and disrupts businesses”. The Brazilian president said that ensuring “security is the duty of the State and a fundamental human right” and that “there is no magic solution to end crime”. The president defended “repressing organized crime and its leaders, strangling their financing and tracking and eliminating arms trafficking.”

Lula cited the last CELAC-European Union summit meeting, two years ago, in Brussels. He said that, at that time, “we were experiencing a moment of relaunching this historic partnership”, but, “since then, we have experienced setbacks”.

The PT member criticized the lack of integration between Latin American countries. He stated that “we are once again a divided meeting” and with threats involving “political extremism”.

“Latin America and the Caribbean are experiencing a profound crisis in their integration project. We are once again a divided region, more outward-looking than inward-looking. Intolerance creates strength and is preventing different points of view from being able to sit at the same table. We are once again living with the threat of political extremism, information manipulation and organized crime. Personal projects of attachment to power often undermine democracy,” he stated.

In his speech, Lula also mentioned the COP30, in Belém, and mentioned the Tropical Forests Forever Fund (TFFF, for its acronym in English). He said that the fund “is an innovative solution so that our forests are worth more standing than they are cut down” and that the “energy transition is inevitable”.

The PT member also lamented the tornado that hit the city of Rio Bonito do Iguaçu, in Paraná, and expressed his condolences to the victims of the climate tragedy in recent days.