President Javier Milei clashed with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Saturday at the regional Mercosur summit about the fate of Venezuela, as US President Donald Trump ratcheted up the pressure on Caracas.
Sparring comments from Lula and Milei came at a meeting of the South American bloc, at which a future trade deal with the European Union was on the agenda.
But the tensions over Venezuela – once a member of Mercosur but suspended in 2016 – exploded in the open, with Lula warning that armed conflict could spark a "humanitarian catastrophe," and Milei praising Trump's sabre-rattling approach to the crisis.
The US military has beefed up its presence in the Caribbean in recent months and carried out air strikes against alleged drug boats in the region and in the Pacific, c
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