Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has defended the trial which saw his predecessor in office, Jair Bolsonaro, sentenced to more than 27 years in prison for plotting a coup.
In an opinion piece published in the New York Times, Lula dismissed the description by US President Donald Trump of the trial as a “witch hunt”, saying that it was a “historic decision which safeguard’s our institutions and the democratic rule of law”.
The Brazilian leader said he had written the essay to establish an open and frank dialogue with US President Donald Trump, who has imposed 50% tariffs on Brazilian imports.
Lula called the tariff hike “not only misguided but illogical”.
He said that over the past 15 years the US had “accumulated a surplus of $410bn (£302bn) in bilateral trade in goods and services”, adding the decision to impose the tariffs could only be political.
“The US government is using tariffs and the Magnitsky Act to seek impunity for former President Jair Bolsonaro,” Lula wrote, referring to the sanctions which the US has imposed on the Supreme Court justice who led the trial against Bolsonaro.
The trial concluded on Thursday when four out of the five Supreme Court justices on the panel tasked with judging Bolsonaro found him guilty of all five charges he was facing. A simple majority was needed to convict him.
Bolsonaro has been sentenced to 27 years and 3 months in prison – a sentence which his lawyers say they will appeal against.
Trump said he found the verdict “very surprising” and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the US would “respond accordingly to this witch hunt”.
In his New York Times article, Lula insisted the trial was “not a ‘witch hunt'”.
“The judgement was the result of proceedings carried out in accordance with Brazil’s 1988 Constitution, enacted after two decades of struggle against a military dictatorship,” he wrote, reminding readers that Brazil’s democracy was restored in 1985 after 20 years of military rule.
Lula also dismissed the Trump administration’s accusations that Brazil’s justice system had targeted and censored US tech firms.
The Brazilian president said that his country’s courts were right to regulate the internet and that US firms were not being treated unfairly.
He concluded his essay by addressing President Trump directly, telling his US counterpart that Brazil remains open to negotiating “anything that can bring mutual benefits”, but warned Trump that “Brazil’s democracy and sovereignty are not on the table”.
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![Cuban president vows defense of island if US invadesCuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Thursday said, “We don’t want that [confrontation] but it is our duty to be ready to avoid it… and if it were unavoidable, to win it.”
Diaz-Canel made the remarks in Cuba‘s capital Havana during a ceremony marking the 65th anniversary of the US‘s failed 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion — a CIA-backed operation launched after US-owned properties and businesses on the island were nationalized by Fidel Castro and his fellow revolutionaries.
Diaz-Canel told thousands gathered for the event that the nation is “ready” for another attack as US President Donald Trump continues to threaten the tiny southern neighbor.
Cuba faces economic collapse as US oil blockade hits tourismTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Cuba and the US: A long and contentious history between neighbors
The US and Cuba have been archenemies since the country’s 1959 revolution and Trump has breathed new life into the 1823 Monroe Doctrine, a US policy designed to thwart European meddling in the Western Hemisphere.
Late last year, Trump ordered US warships to the Caribbean to sink what the US has described as drug smuggling boats in the region.
In January, Trump cited the policy when the US military arrested Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and extradited him to the US to stand trial on drug trafficking charges.
After Maduro’s abduction, Trump ordered a blockade of oil and gas to Cuba and began threatening that “Cuba’s next.”
After launching a war against Iran on February 28, Trump has again floated the idea of “taking” Cuba, which has also suffered massive nationwide blackouts as a result of the US oil blockade.
Diaz-Canel: ‘Cuba is a besieged state’
In his Thursday remarks, Diaz-Canel called the current situation “very grave,” yet he also drew on the Socialist ideals espoused by Fidel Castro at the start of the Cuban revolution.
Further, he rejected Trump’s claims that Cuba is “a failing nation,” accusing the US of looking for a pretext for action.
“Cuba is not a failed state. Cuba is a besieged state,” said Diaz-Canel. “Cuba is a state facing multidimensional aggression: economic warfare, an intensified blockade and an energy blockade.”
Recently, talks between both sides — designed to reduce tensions — have been ongoing, yet few details have emerged.
The trade embargo that the US placed on Cuba in response to its revolution remains in place nearly 70 years later.
Is Donald Trump going to take on Cuba next?To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Edited by: Wesley Dockery
#Cuban #president #vows #defense #island #invades](https://i2.wp.com/static.dw.com/image/76815467_6.jpg?ssl=1 "Cuban president vows defense of island if US invadesCuban President Miguel Diaz-Canel on Thursday said, “We don’t want that [confrontation] but it is our duty to be ready to avoid it… and if it were unavoidable, to win it.”
Diaz-Canel made the remarks in Cuba‘s capital Havana during a ceremony marking the 65th anniversary of the US‘s failed 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion — a CIA-backed operation launched after US-owned properties and businesses on the island were nationalized by Fidel Castro and his fellow revolutionaries.
Diaz-Canel told thousands gathered for the event that the nation is “ready” for another attack as US President Donald Trump continues to threaten the tiny southern neighbor.
Cuba faces economic collapse as US oil blockade hits tourismTo view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Cuba and the US: A long and contentious history between neighbors
The US and Cuba have been archenemies since the country’s 1959 revolution and Trump has breathed new life into the 1823 Monroe Doctrine, a US policy designed to thwart European meddling in the Western Hemisphere.
Late last year, Trump ordered US warships to the Caribbean to sink what the US has described as drug smuggling boats in the region.
In January, Trump cited the policy when the US military arrested Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro and extradited him to the US to stand trial on drug trafficking charges.
After Maduro’s abduction, Trump ordered a blockade of oil and gas to Cuba and began threatening that “Cuba’s next.”
After launching a war against Iran on February 28, Trump has again floated the idea of “taking” Cuba, which has also suffered massive nationwide blackouts as a result of the US oil blockade.
Diaz-Canel: ‘Cuba is a besieged state’
In his Thursday remarks, Diaz-Canel called the current situation “very grave,” yet he also drew on the Socialist ideals espoused by Fidel Castro at the start of the Cuban revolution.
Further, he rejected Trump’s claims that Cuba is “a failing nation,” accusing the US of looking for a pretext for action.
“Cuba is not a failed state. Cuba is a besieged state,” said Diaz-Canel. “Cuba is a state facing multidimensional aggression: economic warfare, an intensified blockade and an energy blockade.”
Recently, talks between both sides — designed to reduce tensions — have been ongoing, yet few details have emerged.
The trade embargo that the US placed on Cuba in response to its revolution remains in place nearly 70 years later.
Is Donald Trump going to take on Cuba next?To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video
Edited by: Wesley Dockery
#Cuban #president #vows #defense #island #invades")
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