Venezuela’s Maduro visits Brazil in blow to US strategy of isolation
- Venezuela leader makes a rare trip abroad to attend Brazil president’s summit
- Maduro’s international travel has been curtailed in recent years by sanctions by the US
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro called for a “multipolar” world rather than one dominated by the US, as he arrived in Brazil seeking to rebuild his nation’s alliances after years of isolation.
In his first international trip in seven months, Maduro met with President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in Brasilia on Monday ahead of a regional summit.
His visit is the latest evidence of an ongoing thaw toward the Venezuelan government after leftists won elections in Brazil and Colombia last year.
Maduro’s international travel has been curtailed in recent years by sanctions by the US, which has openly backed attempts to overthrow him.
Lula, as the 77-year-old Brazilian leader is known, has repeatedly criticised US policy on everything from Venezuelan sanctions to its arming of Ukraine to its efforts to get WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange extradited.
“It is inexplicable for a country to have 900 sanctions placed on it, because another country doesn’t like it,” Lula said, speaking to reporters alongside Maduro.