Lula welcomes back banned leader Maduro, both hit out at US sanctions on Venezuela
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Maduro stated that Venezuela is open to Brazilian investment and that the two nations "must be united, from now on and always."
Venezuelan President Nicols Maduro has visited Brazil for the first time since he was prohibited from entering in 2019 by former far-right President Jair Bolsonaro.Maduro was warmly welcomed by the new president, fellow leftist Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, ahead of a Latin American leaders' conference in Brasilia.
"What's important about Maduro coming here is that it's the beginning of Maduro's return," Lula said, as reported by the BBC.
A number of nations have questionedMaduro's legitimacy, labelling him a dictator.
Lula stated in a greeting to his visitor in the Brazilian capital on Monday (May 29) that his own comeback had arrived five months earlier, referring to the period when he reclaimed power after defeating Bolsonaro in close presidential elections.
Maduro stated that Venezuela is open to Brazilian investment and that the two nations "must be united, from now on and always."
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro last visited Brazil in 2015. Jair Bolsonaro was primarily opposed to Venezuela's socialist president and was unlikely to accept an invitation.
However, Lula previously had cordial relations with both Nicols Maduro and his political mentor, the late Hugo Chvez.
Lula slammed the United States' "extremely exaggerated" sanctions against Venezuela, saying it was illogical that the US would "impose 900 sanctions because they don't get on."
He urgedhis South American ally to develop a new "narrative" about authoritarianism, claiming that an unfair and "constructed" one had been formed around Venezuela's status of democracy.
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Tuesday, May 30, 2023 at 7:36 am