Brazil’s President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and his US counterpart Donald Trump agreed in a phone call Tuesday to intensify cooperation in the fight against organized crime, the Brazilian presidency said.
Lula phoned Trump after the two men in October held their first official meeting, ushering in improved ties after months of growing animosity between Brasilia and Washington.
During the 40-minute conversation, Lula said greater cooperation was needed between the two countries to fight organized crime, the presidency said in a statement.
The conversation comes amid tensions over US strikes on alleged drug traffickers near the Venezuelan coast, which have killed at least 83 people since early September.
Lula highlighted recent police operations in Brazil aimed at financially suffocating organized crime that had identified branches of criminal groups operating from abroad.
Trump “expressed complete willingness to work with Brazil” in fighting these organizations, the Brazilian statement said.
For his part, the US president said that he and Lula had “a great talk” on the phone.
“We talked about trade. We talked about sanctions, because, as you know, I sanctioned them having to do with certain…things that took place,” Trump told reporters during a charity event at the White House on Tuesday. “But we had a very good talk.”
Brazilian authorities have recently carried out several operations against one of the country’s largest crime groups, the First Capital Command (PCC).
Investigators revealed that the crime group was laundering huge amounts of money through gas stations that was then moved into digital banks and payment apps.
In Rio de Janeiro, police have stepped up operations against another major criminal faction, Comando Vermelho, or the Red Command, one of which left 122 people dead in October.
The two criminal groups control cocaine trafficking in Brazil, with a reach spreading across Latin America and, in the case of the PCC, to Europe.
Lula and Trump also discussed trade tariffs.
After a flurry of negotiations, Washington last month removed a punitive 40-percent tariff placed on some Brazilian goods, including meat, coffee and fruit.
Trump imposed the additional tariff in response to the trial of his ally, far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup.
Lula said the removal of the tariff was “very positive” but other products are still impacted by tariffs and need to be discussed.
“Brazil wants to move quickly in these negotiations,” Lula stressed to Trump, according to the statement.
The two presidents agreed to speak again soon.
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