The presidents of Brazil and Colombia on September 9 spoke out against ‘foreign interference and threats to our sovereignty’, as the US military deployed warships and fighter jets near Venezuela.
“We do not need foreign interference or threats to our sovereignty. We are fully capable of solving our problems ourselves,” Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on September 9, according to AFP.
Lula attended the inauguration of a multinational anti-crime center in the Amazonian city of Manaus with his Colombian counterpart Gustavo Petro.
The center will oversee anti-crime operations by security forces from nine countries with territory in the Amazon region, which has been ravaged by crimes linked to deforestation, illegal mining and drug trafficking.
For his part, Colombian President Petro warned of a “possible invasion” of Venezuela, saying that South American parties should not support it.
The Colombian leader said that criminal groups bribe “police, judges, prosecutors, politicians, even presidents, not only in Latin America but also in the United States. These criminal gangs have become the main destroyers of the Amazon,” Petro warned.
The Brazilian and Colombian leaders made the comments as the US government recently sent warships carrying thousands of troops to the southern Caribbean and F-35 stealth fighters to Puerto Rico in what it calls an anti-narcotics operation, according to AFP. Puerto Rico is a US territory located in the northeastern Caribbean.
Last week, US forces attacked a boat that US President Donald Trump said was carrying “a large amount of drugs” from Venezuela, killing 11 people. President Trump also threatened to shoot down Venezuelan planes if they endangered US forces.
Washington recently increased the reward to $50 million for the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, who is accused of links to a drug-terrorist gang. Maduro denies all accusations and any claims that Venezuela is a major drug hub, according to AFP.