The president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, assured that the American president, Donald Trump, told him directly during their meeting in Wa shington that the United States does not intend to invade Cuba, in the amid of growing regional tensions due to the White House's policy towards the island.

“If I understood the translation correctly, he told me that he doesn't think invading Cuba,” declared Lula during a press conference. It was offered at the Brazilian embassy in Washington, after holding a meeting of almost three hours with Trump at the White House.

The Brazilian president explained that he took advantage of the meeting to offer as a mediator in the Cuban situation and affirmed that he is “fully available” if Washington requires diplomatic help to address the crisis on the island.

“Cuba wants to dialogue and find a solution to end the blockade,” said Lula, who qualified the US sanctions as “the longest blockade in modern history.”

The statements come at a time of strong tension between Washington and Havana, after Trump recently toughened his speech towards Cuba after the US operation that led to the capture of Nicolás Maduro in Venezuela.

In recent weeks, the U.S. government announced new economic restrictions and an oil blockade that, according to Cuban authorities, further aggravated the energy and social crisis on the island.

Trump and Lula seek to recompose the bilateral relationship

The meeting marked the first official meeting between both leaders in the White House since Trump's return to power and took place after months of diplomatic tensions between Brazil and the United States.

Despite the political differences, Lula described the meeting as cordial and assured that both nations took “an important step” to rebuild the bilateral relationship.

“The good relationship between Brazil and the United States demonstrates that the two largest democracies on the continent can serve as an example for the world,” said the Brazilian leader.

Trump also rated the meeting as positive in a post on Truth Social, where he described Lula as a “dynamic president” and assured that the talks advanced favorably.

Although both leaders were scheduled to appear together before the press in the Oval Office, the appearance was cancelled at the request of the Brazilian president.

According to officials from both governments, the agenda included trade issues, security cooperation, strategic minerals, and the conflict in Iran.

One of the main points of discussion were the US tariffs on Brazilian products, taxes after the tensions arising from the judicial process against former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, Trump's political ally.

Cuba, Iran and Venezuela dominated part of the conversation

In addition to economic issues, Lula expressed concern over the growing climate of international confrontation driven by Washington in Latin America and the Middle East.

The Brazilian president noted that Brazil maintains differences with the United States regarding the strategy towards Venezuela, Cuba and Iran, although he insisted that the dialogue remains open.

Trump and Lula agreed in rejecting Iran to develop nuclear weapons, although the Brazilian president again defended the diplomatic way and recalled the nuclear agreement promoted by Brazil and Turkey in 2010.

Regarding Cuba, Lula's statements arise after Cuban president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, recently accused Trump of raising military threats “to precedented levels”.

The White House did not officially confirm the words attributed by Lula to the US president regarding a possible invasion of Cuba.

However, the meeting between both leaders left signs of relaxation in a relationship marked by political and commercial disagreements, at a time when Latin America once again occupies a priority place in Washington's foreign policy.