MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Pompeo speaks with Bolsonaro of “vibrant partnership” between Brazil, US

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo discussed “priority foreign policy issues including Venezuela” with Bolsonaro.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo Monday congratulated Brazil's President-Elect Jair Bolsonaro for his victory and “reinforced the vibrant partnership between the United States and Brazil based on our mutual commitment to promote security, democracy, economic prosperity, and human rights,” it was reported.

According to a statement issued by State Department spokesperson Heather Nauert, Pompeo and Bolsonaro have discussed collaboration on “priority foreign policy issues including Venezuela, countering transnational crime, and ways to strengthen economic ties between the United States and Brazil, the two largest economies in the Western Hemisphere.”

Earlier Monday, Nauert said in a separate statement that as “two of the largest democracies and economies in the world, we are working together to address the 21st century's most pressing global and regional challenges.”

US President Donald Trump had called Bolsonaro on Sunday to express “a strong commitment to work side-by-side to improve the lives of the people of the United States and Brazil, and as regional leaders, of the Americas,” according to a White House statement.

As rumours of an international coalition to topple Venezuelan ruler Nicolás Maduro mount, these words come rich in reading between the lines material, despite Bolsonaro's saying that ”there will be no intervention in Caracas, it will be through peaceful means.”