Relations between Brasilia and the United States have been particularly contentious, even though the two men, despite their ideological differences, acknowledge a certain “chemistry” on a personal level, as confirmed by Donald Trump’s message on Truth Social. Their first official meeting, last October in Malaysia, was cordial.
Venezuela Washington subsequently largely lifted the punitive surtax imposed on Brazil in retaliation for the legal troubles of the far-right former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, an ally of Donald Trump who is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence for attempting a coup.
But much has changed since then: the United States has toppled the socialist leader Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela and has gone to war against Iran in support of Israel. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who in 2025 accused Donald Trump of wanting to “become the emperor of the world,” strongly condemned these two American interventions. “I am against any political interference, regardless of the country,” declared the left-wing president last month.
Lula, 80 years old, arrives in Washington politically weakened after significant setbacks in the Brazilian Parliament. Less than six months before the presidential elections, he is neck and neck in the polls with Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of his predecessor. Lula aims to “strengthen his personal relationship with Trump” in order to reduce the risk of American interference in the election, explains Oliver Stuenkel, a professor of international relations at the Getulio Vargas Foundation in Sao Paulo. The Trump administration believes that South America is part of the natural sphere of influence of the United States, and openly weighs in on the elections taking place there, pushing its ideological allies.
Organized Crime Security is the main concern of Brazilian voters and the fight against organized crime is an important aspect of the relationship between Washington and Brasilia. Brazilian Finance Minister Dario Durigan, who is part of the delegation, emphasized on Wednesday that his country wanted to strengthen cooperation in combating drug cartels. Brasilia and Washington signed an agreement in April to combat arms and drug trafficking.
Donald Trump has made the fight against what he calls “narcoterrorism” a priority of his second term, designating criminal groups as foreign terrorist organizations and using it to capture the leader of Venezuela. For Oliver Stuenkel, Brazil wants to “reduce the risk” of Washington classifying the country’s two main gangs as terrorist organizations.
“The United States increasingly views these groups as sophisticated transnational criminal organizations with regional reach,” said Rebecca Bill Chavez, president of the Inter-American Dialogue think tank based in Washington. “But in Brazil, this raises serious concerns about legal, political, and sovereignty implications.”
Rare Earths The Lula-Trump meeting was also expected to focus on the US interest in Brazil’s vast reserves of rare earth minerals, essential for the production of many technological products. Brazil has the world’s second-largest rare earth reserves, behind China.
