Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has taken a central role in a tense regional summit in Colombia, using his diplomatic weight to focus the conversation on US military actions. Lula’s surprise decision to attend the EU-CELAC meeting, despite Brazil’s role as host for the upcoming COP30 climate conference, was a clear signal of his priorities. His foreign ministry confirmed the visit is an act of “regional solidarity with Venezuela,” a country that has been the target of military threats from US President Donald Trump.
This focus on regional security aligns perfectly with the other major crisis dominating the summit: a separate US operation targeting alleged drug vessels that has killed over 60 people. The summit’s host, Colombia’s President Gustavo Petro, is a leading critic of this operation, calling the deaths “extrajudicial executions.” Lula’s solidarity with Venezuela thus broadens the critique to a general regional opposition to US military overreach.
Lula’s diplomacy has not been confined to the summit. He revealed to reporters on Tuesday that he had a direct conversation with President Trump about the issue during a recent meeting in Malaysia. Lula stated he urged Trump to follow the “example of former US President George W. Bush,” who engaged in diplomatic efforts to “pacify” Venezuela after the 2002 coup attempt. “I told Trump that Latin America is a region of peace,” Lula said, underlining his commitment to de-escalation.
This proactive stance by the leader of Latin America’s largest nation is steering the summit’s narrative. While Colombian officials are formally pushing for the “Declaration of Santa Marta” on renewable energy and food security, Brazilian diplomats have all but guaranteed this will be overshadowed. They noted the US actions would be a “natural topic” and that the Venezuelan delegation would certainly “bring it up,” with Brazil’s backing.
The summit is also proceeding without several key European leaders, such as European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. While Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez is present, the low European turnout combined with Lula’s strong, security-focused agenda ensures that the primary outcome of the meeting will likely be a regional statement on sovereignty rather than the planned economic declaration.
