Intelligence leaks show U.S. worried about competing influence in Latin America

Discussion of a series of leaked Pentagon documents has focused mostly on the war in Ukraine and the roles of the U.S., Russia, Europe, and others in the Eastern European conflict. But the leaks also revealed how the U.S. views Latin America’s place in international geopolitics, with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s Brazil near the top of its regional concerns.

According to the Miami Herald, Lula’s position on Ukraine has raised eyebrows among Washington analysts, who questioned a Brazilian mediation proposal that would “reject the West’s aggressor-victim paradigm” and seeks to “establish a club of supposedly impartial mediators to settle the war.”

Lula has maintained a neutral stance on Ukraine, condemning Russia’s invasion in carefully worded statements — but also voting in the United Nations Security Council to investigate the sabotage of Russia’s Nord Stream gas pipelines, the only country besides China and Russia to do so.

Despite good relations with the Joe Biden White House and common ground in the fight against the regional far right, the two governments have not seen eye to eye on foreign affairs. While the U.S. has openly bolstered Ukraine’s war-making capabilities through arms shipments and intelligence collaboration, Lula — like most other continental leaders — has refused to contribute arms to the conflict.

In his recent visit to meet Xi Jinping, Lula reiterated that...