International
Brazil’s Bolsonaro, silent after election loss, to skip G20
| By AFP |
Brazil’s outgoing President Jair Bolsonaro will not participate in the G20 summit in Indonesia, the foreign ministry said Monday, without explaining his unusual absence from the meeting.
Aside from a brief speech two days after his razor-thin election loss to leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva late last month, the far-right Bolsonaro has all but disappeared from public view, and is unusually silent on social media, with his official agenda empty.
The Brazilian delegation to the meeting of the world’s 20 most developed nations “is being led by Foreign Minister Carlos Franca,” the ministry told AFP.
It is the first time since the start of his mandate in January 2019 that Bolsonaro — who remains in office until January 1, 2023 — will not be at the summit to represent Brazil.
With Bolsonaro out of sight and keeping mum, all eyes are on the politician known simply as Lula as he prepares his transition to a third term as president of the Latin American giant.
Lula was on Monday traveling to Egypt for the COP27 global climate summit, under the heavy weight of expectation that Brazil will signal a turnaround in the protection of the Amazon.
The rainforest has experienced rampant deforestation under Bolsonaro, who prioritized what he saw as economic development through mining and agriculture in the vast area.
Bolsonaro’s handling of the Amazon’s destruction contributed largely to Brazil’s international isolation.
At the G20 summit in Rome last year, Bolsonaro was spotted awkwardly meandering alone around a room, as other leaders chatted amiably.
Another leader who is shunning the G20 meeting is Russia’s Vladimir Putin, who is isolated due to the war he is pursuing in Ukraine.
International
Trump Raises Possibility of “Friendly Takeover” of Cuba Amid Deepening Crisis
The President of the United States, Donald Trump, reiterated Monday the possibility that Washington could pursue a “friendly takeover” of Cuba, amid the severe crisis facing the island following the oil blockade promoted by the U.S. government.
Speaking at a press conference in Miami, the president said that U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio is currently “negotiating” with representatives of the Cuban government, although authorities in Havana have repeatedly denied that such talks are taking place.
Trump suggested that Washington could play a more direct role in the island’s future.
“It may be a friendly takeover. It may not be a friendly takeover. It wouldn’t matter because they’re really down to, as they say, fumes. They have no energy, they have no money. They are in deep trouble on a humanitarian basis, and we really don’t want to see that,” the U.S. president said.
The president also argued that the Cuban government had long depended heavily on support from Venezuela, particularly oil supplies.
According to Trump, that support has been drastically reduced following measures adopted by Washington.
“They were living off Venezuela. Venezuela doesn’t send them energy, fuel, oil, money, or anything anymore. They couldn’t survive without Venezuela, they couldn’t have made it, and we cut everything off,” Trump said.
International
Mexico, Brazil and Colombia left out of Trump’s “Shield of the Americas” summit
Left-wing governments in Latin America, including Mexico, Brazil and Colombia, were excluded from the “Shield of the Americas” summit convened by U.S. President Donald Trump.
The meeting, held in Miami, Florida, brought together 12 presidents from across the continent to discuss strategies to combat drug cartels and organized crime.
In Mexico’s case, President Claudia Sheinbaum had recently rejected the use of military force as a solution to the drug trafficking problem. She has argued that her administration’s security strategy is producing results and emphasized that force alone is not the answer.
During the summit, Trump said that most narcotics entering the United States come through Mexico and referred to his previous conversations with Sheinbaum on the issue.
“I like the president very much, she’s a very good person,” Trump said. “But I told her: ‘Let me eradicate the cartels.’ And she said, ‘No, no, no, please, president.’ We have to eradicate them. We have to finish them.”
The remarks highlighted ongoing differences between Washington and Mexico over how to confront drug trafficking networks operating across the region.
International
Trump announces 17-nation alliance in the Americas to “destroy” drug cartels
U.S. President Donald Trump announced on Saturday the creation of a 17-nation alliance across the Americas aimed at dismantling drug cartels, during a regional summit held at his golf club in Doral.
Speaking to a group of allied leaders at the Shield of the Americas Summit, Trump said the initiative would rely on military force to eliminate powerful criminal networks operating throughout the hemisphere.
“The heart of our agreement is the commitment to use lethal military force to destroy these sinister cartels and terrorist networks. Once and for all, we will put an end to them,” Trump told the assembled heads of state.
The Republican leader argued that large portions of territory in the Western Hemisphere have fallen under the control of transnational gangs and pledged U.S. support to governments seeking to confront them. He even suggested the potential use of highly precise missiles against cartel leaders.
Before making the announcement, Trump greeted the roughly twelve leaders attending the summit, including close allies such as Javier Milei, Daniel Noboa and Nayib Bukele, whom he described as a “great president.”
The meeting forms part of Trump’s broader regional strategy inspired by his reinterpretation of the Monroe Doctrine, which seeks to reinforce Washington’s influence in the Americas, strengthen security cooperation and counter the growing presence of powers such as China.
Trump pointed to recent U.S. actions in the region as examples of his administration’s approach, including the operation that led to the capture of former Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro earlier this year.
The summit also takes place amid escalating international tensions following the conflict launched last week by the United States and Israel against Iran.
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