Without directly naming the United States or Donald Trump's government, President Lula (PT) is expected to address the United Nations on the importance of combating organized crime and criticize the measures being adopted in that area across the Americas.
He will speak at the organization's podium next Tuesday (22nd), in New York, when he traditionally opens the heads of state addresses at the General Assembly. He will be followed by Trump.
According to a diplomatic source who assists in drafting the speech, direct references to Washington have been ruled out, as the messages should be delivered with diplomatic courtesy. In that vein, although he disagrees with the initiative, Lula will not mention the Shield of the Americas.
Sponsored by Trump, the initiative brings together right-wing governments in Latin America in a coalition to combat drug cartels. Participating governments include those of Nayib Bukele (El Salvador), Javier Milei (Argentina), and Rodrigo Paz (Bolivia).
More recently, during a tour by Secretary of State Marco Rubio through South America, Peru — now governed by Keiko Fujimori — also joined the initiative.
The coalition is still being shaped, but follows in the wake of actions that led the United States to bomb vessels in the Caribbean.
The issue of public security has been central to electoral campaigns and a point of tension with the United States. For months, Bolsonaristas worked to have the American government classify factions such as CV (Comando Vermelho) and PCC (Primeiro Comando da Capital) as terrorist organizations. In May, the designation was sanctioned, one day after the visit of candidate and Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL) to Washington.
This Wednesday, the Trump administration stated that Brazil is failing to combat the CV and PCC in a presidential statement submitted to Congress, and demanded stronger measures against the factions. On the Brazilian side, sources at the Itamaraty consider the criticism to be serious.
The Ministry of Justice and Public Security rejected the statement. And the government said that the Trump administration ignores Brazilian initiatives in the area and fails to account for the existing cooperation between the two countries. It cited, for example, the Anti-Faction Law, signed by Lula with vetoes in March, and the 11 billion reais package launched in May to attempt to strangle these criminal groups.
At the same time, the United States included allies such as El Salvador, Ecuador, and Peru on its annual list of major drug transit or producing countries, but strongly praised the leaders of those nations. Those countries, unlike Brazil, are members of the Shield of the Americas.
Lula is also expected to criticize, in similar fashion, foreign interference in Brazil's elections. A formal meeting with Trump is all but ruled out, but aides do not dismiss the possibility that the American might approach Lula after the PT leader's speech in the wings — or vice versa.
A bilateral meeting, they say, would be nearly impossible for logistical reasons (Lula spends little time in New York) and also because the two spoke at length at the end of July.
At the 2025 General Assembly, an unexpected encounter between the two took place, resulting in praise from Trump. The Republican called the PT leader "a pleasant man" and said there was "chemistry" between them.
President Lula is expected to arrive in New York in the late afternoon on Sunday (20), according to the initial schedule. On Monday (21), he will remain at the residence of Brazil's representative to the UN, Ambassador Sérgio Danese, where he is expected to receive the city's mayor, democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani, a detractor of Trump.
Other bilateral meetings with leaders from other countries are possible but have not yet been confirmed. On Tuesday morning, Lula will address the UN, and after lunch he is expected to return to Brazil. The brief schedule has been justified by the electoral campaign in Brazil.
