The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, described this Tuesday as “killing” the police operation that left more than a hundred dead in Rio de Janeiro last week and considered that action by the agents of that city “disastrous.”
“There was no order to kill and there was killing,” Lula declared in a press conference with foreign correspondents, about this action by the Rio de Janeiro Police, which caused 121 deaths in two favelas controlled by the Comando Vermelho criminal organization, one of the most powerful in the country.
The president maintained that the operation was in compliance with court orders that required the capture of dozens of members of that gang, but not the death, which was what finally happened.
“The action of the state (of Rio de Janeiro) was disastrous,” said Lula, who pointed out that federal agencies are investigating the way in which this operation, carried out by the Fluminense regional government, was carried out within its constitutional powers.
Lula also regretted that many of the victims of the police action in Rio de Janeiro have already been “buried without an expert” and mentioned his government’s efforts to strengthen the fight against organized crime, both nationally and in South America.
He explained that the federal government has proposed to Parliament a constitutional reform project which proposes establishing better coordination of federal, regional and municipal forces.
This project is resisted by some governors, especially from the ideological arc of the right, arguing that this initiative would take away the autonomy that the Constitution grants them in terms of urban security.
Lula cited other measures that his government has adopted in the fight against organized crime, both in Brazil and with neighboring countries in South America, and mentioned the recent creation of a police center in the city of Manaus, in the Brazilian Amazon, made up of agents from all the nations of that region.
In this framework, he reinforced that the fight against organized crime should not only occur at the national level, since it is a phenomenon that transcends borders.
“Organized crime is part of Latin America and the United States,” he stated.
In fact, criminal organizations born in Brazil, such as the Red Command itself or the First Capital Command, already have tentacles in other countries, as do the Mexican drug cartels or the transnational gang Tren de Aragua, born in Venezuelan prisons, among many others.
The Brazilian president spoke with foreign correspondents in Belém, in the heart of the Brazilian Amazon, where in the coming days the UN Climate Change Conference (COP30) will be held, which will have a prior meeting of leaders, which will bring together some 60 heads of state and government.
Venezuela
The Brazilian president, at the same time, rejected a possible land incursion by the United States into Venezuela. and reiterated his willingness to mediate between both countries.
US President Donald Trump ordered a major military deployment in the Caribbean for anti-drug operations that have left dozens dead.
“I don’t want us to lead to a ground invasion” of Venezuela by the United States military forces, Lula stated in Belém during an interview with international agencies.
“I told President Trump,” during a meeting in Kuala Lumpur last month, that “political problems are not solved with weapons. They are solved through dialogue,” he added.
Re-election
Lula also defended his candidacy ahead of the presidential elections in October 2026, and promised that if it is up to him, the extreme right will “never again” govern the country.
“As far as it depends on me, never again will someone from the denialist extreme right govern this country,” said the social democratic leader in Belém, on the eve of the world climate summit (COP30).
In this sense, he noted that he strives for “democracy to win” and for “the people to understand the difference between democracy and authoritarianism.”
Lula has held the presidency since January 2023, when he succeeded the far-right Jair Bolsonaro today in house arrest and sentenced to 27 years in prison for “leading” a coup plot to “perpetuate” in power after losing the 2022 elections, precisely against Lula.
After months of insinuations, at the end of October, the former union leader surprised by announcing that he will run for re-election during his state visit to Indonesia, in the middle of a joint appearance with his counterpart Prabowo Subianto.
Lula acknowledged this Tuesday that confirming his candidacy thousands of kilometers away from Brazil was a “mistake” that was motivated by the “good treatment” he received from the Indonesian authorities, who even threw him a birthday party.
“I don’t have any vote there,” he said. At 80 years old, he indicated that to be a candidate it is necessary “to be in very good health,” but he maintains that he already takes “a lot of” care of himself.
“I’m in the best moment of my life. I’m in good health, I’m in love with my wife. I’m fine with the Government, with the ministers, with the things that are happening in Brazil, being aware of the difficulties,” he said, sitting at a table and accompanied, a few meters away from him, by his wife Rosângela ‘Janja’ da Silva.
And he stressed that “he is not joking” when he says that he intends to live to be 120 years old.
According to the surveys released to date, less than a year before the October 2026 elections, Lula leads all voting intention scenarios frent to any of the possible candidates.
Bolsonaro, also disqualified, has not yet decided who will be his political successor, in a field on the right in which some regional governors already stand out.
If elected, it would be the first time that the same candidate has held the head of state for the fourth time.
climate summit
Lula also spoke about the United Nations climate summit, which is taking place this month in Belém, and asked that climate talks be translated into actions, after years of much dialogue and few decisions.
“We want to see if it is possible to inaugurate a new implementation phase for the COP. Enough discussion, now we must implement what we have agreed,” Lula said before the summit with some 50 heads of state and government in the Brazilian city of Belém this Thursday and Friday.
The celebration of the event coincides with a report this Tuesday that found that the world is far from reducing climate warming: greenhouse gas emissions in the world increased by 2.3% in 2024 compared to the previous year, according to new UN data.
“We already had several COPs, many decisions were made, many decisions were not executed,” added the 80-year-old president.