Lula da Silva made the remarks at a high-level forum in Colombia that brought together delegates from Africa and included a summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, according to the Associated Press. In his comments, the Brazilian president described what he said was a resurgence of colonial-style thinking toward developing nations and linked it to episodes involving Cuba and Venezuela.
Lula spoke without naming the U.S. president, but his remarks were widely understood as a response to Washington’s role in the region. “It’s not possible for someone to think that they own other countries,” Lula said, while questioning U.S. actions involving Cuba and Venezuela and asking whether those moves were “Is that democratic?” he said, in reference to developments that had drawn support from right-wing leaders in parts of the continent but alarm among left-leaning politicians.
The Brazilian president also connected his broader argument about sovereignty to what he described as U.S.-led military action beyond the Americas. Lula criticized the war launched by the United States and Israel against Iran on Feb. 28, and he compared it to the Iraq War, arguing that invasions had been justified by claims about weapons. He cited an earlier precedent in which, Lula said, investigators failed to find what was asserted—adding that he was asking, “Where are Saddam Hussein’s chemical weapons? Where are they? Who found them?”
Turning back to economic and resource concerns, Lula said countries present at the forum had already experienced being plundered for gold, silver, diamonds and other minerals. He accused an unspecified “they” of seeking to own developing countries’ critical minerals and rare earth deposits, and he said, “After taking everything we had, now they want to own the critical minerals and rare earths that we have,” adding, “They want to colonize us again.”
The Associated Press reporting also placed Lula’s comments within a wider description of U.S. actions that, according to the article, have rekindled longstanding intervention patterns in Latin America. It said that while large-scale, overt U.S. involvement receded after the Cold War, Donald Trump’s administration has pursued steps including boat strikes in the Caribbean, a naval blockade on Venezuelan oil exports, and involvement in electoral politics in Honduras and Argentina.
The reporting further said Trump imposed a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods last year, citing a “witch hunt” trial against Jair Bolsonaro, and it said the U.S. has shown interest in Brazil’s rare earth deposits. It also said U.S. forces captured Nicolás Maduro on Jan. 3 and brought him to the United States to face drug and weapons charges, a move that the article said thrilled right-wing leaders while left-wing politicians voiced concerns about “U.S. bullying.”
At the same meeting, Lula returned to the principle of non-interference in territorial affairs, saying, “We cannot allow anyone to interfere and violate the territorial integrity of each country.” The Brazilian leader also criticized what he said was the United Nations’ inability to halt multiple conflicts, and he said the situation reflected the “total and absolute failure of the United Nations.”
Lula said he was pointing to conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine and Iran, and he again called for changes to how the U.N. Security Council operates. The Associated Press reporting described the Security Council as mandated to ensure international peace and security, but said it has often been unable to act in major conflicts because of veto power held by five permanent members: the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France.
Colombian President Gustavo Petro echoed Lula’s condemnation of the United Nations, saying the body was “acting in impotence” and that it was “not what it was created for.” Petro said the United Nations was created after World War II to prevent wars but that “what we have today is war,” and he added that the world still needed the organization for climate efforts and to address global warming.
Petro also urged engagement and reform within the diplomatic framework, saying the more serious humanity’s problems became, the fewer tools countries had for collective action, and that “And that path leads only to barbarism.” He accused U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio of defending what Petro described as Western civilization and urged Rubio instead to pursue dialogue.
The summit in Colombia included relatively few presidents and prime ministers from Latin America and the Caribbean, the Associated Press said, reflecting divisions among leaders in the region. Those present, according to the article, included the presidents of Brazil, Uruguay, Burundi and Colombia, as well as the prime ministers of Guyana and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, along with deputy ministers, foreign ministers and ambassadors.