Reports: Brazil’s Leftist President Ignores Biden, Allows Iranian Warships to Dock in Rio
World,Joe Biden,Biden Administration,Brazil,Luiz Inacio Lula Da Silva,Iran,Foreign Affairs
Brazil’s left-wing President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva reportedly embarrassed the Biden administration on Monday by allowing two Iranian warships to dock in Rio de Janeiro, only a few weeks after President Joe Biden rolled out the red carpet for Lula in Washington.
The Biden administration has been obsequious to hardline socialist Lula after his narrow victory over incumbent Jair Bolsonaro in the October election. Biden fawned over Lula’s victory and ostentatiously invited him to visit Washington on January 9, the day after Bolsonaro loyalists rioted in Brasilia.
Biden and Lula ended up meeting in the White House on February 10. Both sides hyped the trip as an opportunity to “reset” U.S.-Brazil relations.
“The most important aspect of the visit is political: the symbolism of this meeting happening so soon after President Lula took office. It’s an opportunity for the two leaders to meet face-to-face and give the relationship a new direction and new momentum,” a Brazilian Foreign Ministry official gushed in advance of the meeting.
