Brazil Announces Partnership with US to Combat Weapons and Drug Trafficking

Brazil and US Announce Security Partnership to Combat Crime

The Brazilian government has announced a new security partnership with the United States, aimed at combating criminal networks and illicit trafficking of drugs and weapons. The agreement includes cooperation between the Brazilian Federal Revenue Service and US Customs, which will facilitate the sharing of information and joint operations to intercept illicit shipments.

According to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the deal marks a significant breakthrough in cooperation between the two countries. “We will intensify the fight against international arms and drug trafficking through concrete actions,” he stated on social media.

The partnership is part of the DESARMA programme, which will integrate intelligence and joint operations to intercept arms and narcotics trafficking. The Brazilian Revenue Service has confirmed that the deal will result in a continuous flow of information from US authorities to their Brazilian counterparts.

Brazil’s Finance Minister Dario Durigan hailed the collaboration as an important step in strengthening international cooperation against crime. “This initiative will integrate intelligence and joint operations to intercept arms and narcotics trafficking, thereby reinforcing security and coordinated action between the two countries,” he said.

The agreement follows a recent trend of collaborations between the Trump administration and Latin American governments, including Brazil. The DESARMA programme comes after the Brazilian government seized 1,168 illicitly imported arms and weapons parts in the last 12 months alone, mainly sent from the US state of Florida.

The partnership is seen as an effort to address crime in the Americas, following a period of tension between President Lula’s administration and the Trump administration. The two leaders have taken different approaches to addressing crime, with the Trump administration taking a hardline stance and labeling multiple Latin American gangs and cartels as “foreign terrorist organisations”.

Source: Al Jazeera