Aftermath of Venezuela’s earthquake, China-Colombia ties: 7 Latin America relations reads
From Argentina’s move towards Beijing to Lula’s beef deal, here are highlights from the SCMP’s foreign correspondents in June 2026
1. ‘I will sell to someone else’: Brazil’s Lula hits back at US after China beef win
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva thanked China for clearing the country’s beef of foot-and-mouth disease and fired a barb at US President Donald Trump, saying “I will sell to someone else”, after Washington announced new tariffs on Brazilian goods.
2. ‘Venezuela is our home’: Chinese Venezuelans rally after earthquakes
For generations, Chinese migrants have built businesses in Venezuela. After the country’s deadliest earthquake in decades – which occurred in late June and killed nearly 1,500 people, injured more than 3,100 and displaced over 12,700 – they responded not as outsiders but as Venezuelans.
3. EU pitches Brazil a ‘more beneficial’ rare earths deal than US or China
The EU offered Brazil a “more beneficial” partnership on critical minerals than the United States or China, promising investment in domestic refining and technology as Brussels worked to cut its dependence on Chinese supply chains.