Overview
- Brazilian president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva publicly told U.S. president Donald Trump not to intervene in Brazil's October elections after a brief encounter at the G7 that Lula said took place on Wednesday.
- Lula said he handed Trump written files on Brazil's efforts against organized crime and on rare earth minerals during the short meeting and stressed Brazil does not want a Cold War between the United States and China.
- Trump had described Brazil as "politically dangerous" at G7-related events and has recently met with Flávio Bolsonaro, a leading rival to Lula, which Brazil sees as political alignment with the Bolsonaro camp.
- U.S. designations this month of Brazil's two largest criminal groups, the Primeiro Comando da Capital and Comando Vermelho, as terrorist organizations have added a security strain to relations and been rejected by Lula's government.
- Tensions trace back to 2025 U.S. tariffs tied to cases involving Jair Bolsonaro and now threaten cooperation on trade, law enforcement and strategic minerals, a development that could affect business ties and diplomatic talks ahead of the vote.