Lula: Drug dealers are also victims of users

3:24

SPECIAL ENVOY TO JAKARTA - President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva stated this Friday, 24, that drug traffickers are also victims of users, when criticizing the policy of the President of the United States , Donald Trump , of fighting drug trafficking cartels in Latin America with the Armed Forces.

After the negative repercussions, the president's official profile retracted its statement on social media, stating that the"phrase was poorly placed" and that more important than the "words" are the government's actions in combating organized crime.

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The president condemned Trump's decisions regarding operations in the Caribbean Sea, with the Armed Forces, against boats accused by the US of being part of Venezuelan factions.

The operation, involving fighter jets, warships, and approximately 10,000 troops, is seen as a threat of military intervention in Venezuela and is a cause for concern for the Brazilian government. Members of the Planalto Palace believe it poses a risk of destabilization in South America and a potential strengthening of the Venezuelan diaspora.

Now, Trump has compared drug traffickers to radical terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda and the Islamic State. The Lula administration rejects the classification of criminal organizations as terrorists.

Lula said that the territorial sovereignty of each country and the self-determination of peoples must be respected and that he will have great pleasure in discussing the topic with Trump, at the meeting on Sunday, the 26th, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia .

"You don't say you're going to kill people; you have to arrest them, try them, determine whether or not they were drug trafficking, and then punish them according to the law," Lula said, in yet another criticism of Trump's military policy."It's the least you'd expect a head of state to do."

The Workers' Party member suggested that Trump should take care of the users instead of sending in the military by land, air, or sea. He also hoped for police cooperation in the region.