Lula warns US against “foreign interventions” in Latin America

BRASILIA, Brazil (MNTV) – Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has warned against any foreign intervention in Latin America, in a thinly veiled message to the United States over its escalating pressure on Venezuela.

“Foreign interventions can cause greater damage than those they seek to prevent,” Lula said while receiving newly appointed ambassadors in Brasília. He emphasized that his government prioritizes keeping the region a “zone of peace,” calling instead for “cordial relations based on good economic and commercial partnerships.”

He urged nations to conduct diplomacy “without hate and without violating the basic principles of democracy and human rights.”

The remarks come amid growing tensions between Washington and Caracas. Reports last week revealed that a US Special Operations aviation unit conducted flights less than 100 miles from Venezuelan territory — a move widely viewed as a warning to President Nicolás Maduro’s government.

Although a US official said the flights were merely training exercises, they followed President Donald Trump’s admission that he had authorized the CIA to conduct lethal operations inside Venezuela. Sources told The New York Times the ultimate goal was to remove Maduro from power.

The Miami Herald later reported that the Trump administration had rejected a proposal from Venezuelan officials offering to remove Maduro and initiate a political transition.

US Ambassador to the UN Mike Waltz defended the administration’s pressure campaign as being “consistent with the law of armed conflict and Article 51 of the UN Charter.”

In response, Venezuela’s Defense Minister Vladimir Padrino López warned citizens to “prepare for the worst” and confirmed that the armed forces had begun military drills and civilian combat training.

Maduro, meanwhile, made a direct appeal for peace in a televised address. Switching briefly to English, he said: “Not war, yes peace. With the people of the United States. Please, please, please. Listen to me. From the people of the Bolivarian Republic.”

Lula reiterated last week that “the Venezuelan people own their destiny and no foreign president must dictate what Venezuela or Cuba will be like,” underscoring his stance that regional stability must be achieved through dialogue, not coercion.