Brazil's Lula says Maduro should be tried in Venezuela, not abroad

By Lisandra Paraguassu

BRASILIA, Feb 20 (Reuters) - Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Friday that toppled Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro should face trial in his own country, not overseas.

Maduro was captured from Caracas by U.S. forces earlier this year and taken to New York, where he is accused of overseeing a cocaine-trafficking network with international drug cartels.

"What matters now, is to re-establish democracy in Venezuela, that's the most important thing. And I believe that if Maduro has to be tried, he has to be tried in his country, not abroad," Lula said in an interview with India Today TV during his visit to the country's AI summit.

Brazil cannot accept the capture of one head of state by another, he added, according to an English translation provided by the Indian broadcaster.

TALKS WITH TRUMP

Lula argued that Brazilian citizens accused of crimes and living in the United States should be tried in Brazil, saying he intends to present a written proposal on the issue to U.S. President Donald Trump.

Lula also said he wants to negotiate issues related to organized crime, drug trafficking and rare earth minerals with Trump, whom he has said he is likely to meet in Washington next month.

Brazil, which borders Venezuela to the south, is an influential diplomatic actor in South America.

Lula's relations with Trump have improved since last year, when the U.S. leader imposed tariffs on Brazilian goods over Brazil's treatment of far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro, who has been jailed for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 election.

TRADE RELATIONS

Brazil must diversify its commercial ties and reduce dependence on major powers such as the United States and China, Lula added, arguing that emerging economies should strengthen their own trade relationships.

"We need to get to 30-40 billion dollars of trade (with India) because of the size of our countries and the economy," he said.

Lula added that he had advocated for Brazil and India to conduct trade in their own currencies rather than settling transactions in U.S. dollars.

"It's not a fantasy, it's not something that you can do overnight, but it's something that we have to start to think over," he said, calling for further discussions and coordination.

The Brazilian president pushed back on speculation that the BRICS group of countries, of which Brazil and India are part, plans to create a common currency.

"There is no debate within BRICS about creating a new currency, the BRICS currency." he said.

Trump claimed last year that the BRICS group was set up to hurt the United States and the U.S. dollar's role as the world's reserve currency, threatening to impose steeper tariffs on imports from the group to curb that alleged effort.