Versión Español
Spanish – By Julio Zapata
According to an article published on April 1 by the Cuban news agency Prensa Latina, “former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva believes that the epicenter of the crisis confronting Brazil today is right-wing extremist leader Jair Bolsonaro, who should be removed from power.”
To achieve the objective of “removing Bolsonaro from power,” Lula asked for the cooperation of his old friend, former Argentine guerrilla Horacio Verbitsky, a member of the Sao Paulo Forum. On April 3, Verbitsky falsely claimed that “there was telephone communication between the high-ranking Brazilian army chief and an Argentine chief in which the former informed him that they had decided to bypass President Bolsonaro in all important decisions.”
Verbitsky’s “revelation” was echoed by numerous Brazilian media outlets, as well as by influencers on social media, to create the false impression that there is a rebellion within the Brazilian military. Lula clearly wants to take advantage of the crisis generated by the coronavirus pandemic to promote a coup d’état and retake power.
Lula’s destabilizing plan seems to be a defensive move since the U.S. Department of Justice’s charge against Nicolás Maduro affects him directly.
Given this context, the destabilization campaign against Jair Bolsonaro, led by Lula da Silva, has two objectives: first, to create a regional crisis that will serve to prevent Maduro’s imminent fall; and second, to cover up the involvement of the Sao Paulo Forum and his own involvement in drug trafficking.
In fact, the indictment published on the DOJ website states that in 2009, then Foreign Minister Nicolás Maduro traveled to Honduras to support deposed President Manuel Zelaya, but his real objective was to protect the drug delivery routes of the Suns Cartel. Lula worked alongside Maduro to bring Zelaya back into office.
If the United States continues to investigate Maduro’s role in drug trafficking, Lula fears that his own participation in the illicit drug business will be discovered, as well as the complicity of other members of the Sao Paulo Forum, including Evo Morales, Rafael Correa, Daniel Ortega, and Cristina Kirchner, the latter a friend and ally of Horacio Verbitsky.
The destabilization campaign against Jair Bolsonaro, led by Lula da Silva, has two objectives: first, to create a regional crisis that will serve to prevent Maduro’s imminent fall; and second, to cover up the involvement of the Sao Paulo Forum and Lula’s own involvement in drug trafficking.
Julio Zapata is an American columnist and writer.
