In a meeting scheduled for March, Lula and Trump are expected to talk about combating organized crime, tariffs and Latin America

In Panama, Lula gives an indirect speech to Trump The Brazilian government assesses that the next face-to-face meeting between presidents Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Donald Trump should focus on topics involving bilateral interests and the relationship with Latin America. Brazilian diplomatic sources interviewed by GloboNews state that Brazil is interested in addressing three main issues: the fight against organized crime; the continuity of negotiations on Brazilian products still affected by tariffs; the situation in Latin America. Interlocutors at Palácio do Planalto believe that the face-to-face conversation between Lula and Trump will be important to organize and reinforce the bilateral relationship between the countries. The meeting between the two presidents should take place in March, with no set date yet. The themes highlighted by interlocutors from the Brazilian government were also mentioned in the last telephone conversation between Lula and Trump. The two spoke last Monday (26) for almost an hour on the phone. According to a note released by the Presidency’s office, they discussed issues linked to the bilateral relationship and the global agenda and celebrated the good relationship built in recent months, which resulted in the lifting of a significant part of the tariffs applied to Brazilian products. The expectation is that representatives of the departments involved in the topics discussed — such as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Justice and Public Security, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Development, Industry, Commerce and Services, in addition to the Federal Police — will be part of the delegation that will go to Washington. Camarotti: Lula tries to neutralize speech about a difficult relationship with Donald Trump Combating organized crime In the most recent telephone conversation, Lula reiterated the proposal forwarded to the State Department in December 2025 to strengthen cooperation in combating organized crime. The Brazilian president expressed interest in expanding the partnership in the areas of repression of money laundering and arms trafficking, in addition to freezing the assets of criminal groups and exchanging data on financial transactions. According to Planalto, the initiative was well received by Trump. The Brazilian government assesses that the issue of public security will also be central in the 2026 elections and that maintaining proximity to Donald Trump can help neutralize a possible articulation by the global extreme right to influence the election. The expectation is to concretely launch a strategic partnership between Brazil and the United States. Latin America and Venezuela The approach to the situation in Latin America, according to Brazilian diplomatic sources, would already be foreseen in any conversation between the presidents, as it is a territorial and geographical issue. However, recent events in Venezuela, such as the capture of Nicolás Maduro by the US government, have raised an additional alert. Lula and Trump also discussed the Venezuelan situation in their last telephone conversation. Lula highlighted the importance of preserving peace and working for the well-being of the country’s population. The capture of Nicolás Maduro took place on January 3rd. The operation involved elite troops and direct confrontation with Venezuelan forces, but was completed without American casualties. Maduro and his wife were taken to a military ship and later to the United States, where they face charges. Once in the country, they went through a hearing and declared themselves innocent. With the president’s dismissal, Delcy Rodríguez took over as leader of the country. The crisis generated strong international repercussions. Lula condemned US military action in Venezuela and stated that the operation went beyond the limits of what he considers acceptable in relations between countries.

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