Maduro, Lula in bid to rebuild alliances
International trip by Venezuelan leader to Brazil first in months following US sanctions
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro has called for a “multipolar” world rather than one dominated by the United States, as he arrived in Brazil seeking to rebuild his nation’s alliances after years of isolation.
In his first international trip in seven months, Maduro met President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brasilia on Monday ahead of a regional summit.
His visit is the latest evidence of an ongoing thaw towards the Venezuelan government after leftists won elections in Brazil and Colombia last year.
Maduro’s international travel has been curtailed in recent years by sanctions by the US, which has openly backed attempts to overthrow him.
Lula, as the 77-year-old is known, has repeatedly criticised US policy on everything from Venezuelan sanctions to its arming of Ukraine to its efforts to get WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange extradited.
“It is inexplicable for a country to have 900 sanctions placed on it, because another country doesn’t like it,” Lula said, speaking alongside Maduro.
The US government of former president Donald Trump rallied its allies to isolate Venezuela following Maduro’s re-election in 2018 in a vote that was widely regarded as a sham.
Maduro, 60, the hand-picked successor to the late Hugo Chavez, has clung to power amid mass protests and coup attempts.
On Monday, Lula said he backed Venezuela joining a block of emerging-market nations known as BRICs, and pledged to boost business in the country.
The Brazilian president has repeatedly pushed back against criticism of the Venezuelan government, which is widely condemned for its human rights abuses and mishandling of the economy.
“Maduro does not have dollars for imports,” he said. “It’s the fault of the US, which created an extremely exaggerated blockade.”