Brazil's president lashes out at Washington: We will not accept being treated as a second-class republic
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has declared his country's categorical rejection of Washington's treatment of Brazil as a "boy" or a "small republic," expressing his anger over the recent US decision to designate two Brazilian gangs as "global terrorist organizations."
This came during a speech he delivered at an official ceremony in the state of Sergei, in which he issued a stern warning to the US administration, saying: "Do not mess with the sovereignty of this country. And don't mess with our democracy. We do not accept that no one treats us like children, and we do not accept to be treated as if we are a second-class republic."
Background of the US Decision and the Expansion of Organized Crime
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that Washington will add the Brazilian gangs "Commando Vermelo" and "Primero Commando da Capital" to the list of global terrorist organizations starting June 5 .
Rubio said in a statement that the two groups are among the most violent criminal organizations and include thousands of members who have planned brutal attacks against civilians, police officers and government employees, warning that the influence of these two gangs extends far beyond Brazil's borders to reach deep into the United States.
President Lula da Silva recalled the scenes of his recent visit to the White House on May 7 , during which he spent three hours with President Donald Trump and handed him four documents, including a dossier on combating organized crime.
Lula lashed out at Secretary of State Marco Rubio for opening the door to U.S. intervention, noting that Rubio was busy at the time of the meeting preparing to help Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, 45, the son of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro, who publicly boasted that he had asked Trump to designate the two gangs as terrorist organizations in a private White House meeting.
The U.S. announcement came shortly after Flavio revealed that he had asked Trump during a meeting at the White House on Tuesday to put the two gangs on the terror list.
"As he knelt before Trump and pressed for the two groups," he wrote on Instagram, attacking Lula, "and I worked to get them to be treated like terrorists, which they really are."
Flavio is the son of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently serving a prison sentence at his home for carrying out a coup attempt.
Sovereignty Fears and Mobilization of the Home Front
The Brazilian government strongly opposes this designation because of its serious political and legal implications, as it theoretically opens the door to the possibility of U.S. military intervention in the country, as well as threatening the Brazilian financial system under sanctions that prevent members of the two gangs from conducting financial transactions or entering the United States, and in return.
Lula acknowledged the danger of the two gangs internally, describing them as terrorists against Brazilian society and slum dwellers, and stressing that they will be fought by Brazilian hands within the border.
The Brazilian president opened a new front of defiance with Washington by demanding the extradition of businessman Ricardo Magro, who is accused of fuel smuggling, and former MP Alexandre Ramagem, to prove good faith in actual cooperation.
Lula concluded his speech with a decisive letter to the Brazilian Senate, urging them to quickly approve the proposal for the constitutional amendment to public security previously approved by the House of Representatives, stressing that the fight against organized crime does not need to seek help from outside forces.
Washington has been carrying out strikes in the Pacific and Caribbean for months against ships it says are involved in drug smuggling activities to the United States, and has previously designated several South American gangs as terrorist organizations.