Brazil’s Lula Says US Military Presence in Caribbean Causing ‘Tension’

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Monday denounced the US military deployment in the Caribbean Sea, as tensions mount between the United States and Venezuela. Addressing a virtual BRICS summit, Lula said “the presence of the armed forces of the largest power in the Caribbean Sea is a factor of tension,” according to a translation of his speech on the YouTube channel of the South African presidency. Last week the United States accused Venezuela of buzzing its ships in the Caribbean following a deadly US strike on an alleged Venezuelan drug boat. (AFP)