Latin America Will Not Send Weapons to Ukraine

The US and Germany scour Latin America for weapons to use against Russia but have yet to find them.

After meeting with German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Argentinian President Alberto Fernández stated that neither his country nor any other in the Latin-Caribbean region “is thinking of sending weapons” to Ukraine or any other conflict, saying that their goal to achieve “the end of hostilities as soon as possible”.

On January 25, Gustavo Petro’s Colombian government indicated that his nation would not send war material to Ukraine. Five days earlier, in a meeting between the Workers’ Party (PT) and the military high command, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva made it clear that his government rejected a request from the German government to send weapons to Ukraine, as reported by Folha de São Paulo on January 20.

Meanwhile, the Pentagon admitted to having entered into conversations with various Latin American governments so that the latter would send their Russian-made weapons to Ukraine in exchange for their US counterparts. This confession was made by General Laura Richardson, head of the US Southern Command, a fleet deployed in Latin-Caribbean waters and perceived by progressive governments as a method of intimidation.

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Fernández also highlighted “the damage that the war between Russia and Ukraine is causing in the southern hemisphere” and emphasized the repercussions of the conflict on “food prices and hunger.”

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In response to the journalists gathered at the joint press conference held by Fernández and Scholz after their meeting at the San Martín Palace, the Argentinian president also said that both agree on the need to curb hostilities and losses of life. “In this, we absolutely agree to work together,” he said.

However, Berlin approved the shipment of Leopard 2 armored assault vehicles to Ukraine, unlocking the possibility for countries that have acquired this German war technology to also send units to the theater of operations in Ukraine. Analysts and officials in Moscow see this as a way of perpetuating the conflict by arming Ukraine, slowing down a negotiated solution.

Fernández’s assertion that the German chancellor wants to end the conflict is paradoxical, given that he is looking for more weapons to continue the war.

In this same logic, on January 26, before the Bundestag (German parliament), Scholz noted that his government wants to “avoid the escalation of this conflict and prevent a war between Russia and NATO.” Although, in the face of pressure from the strongest war enthusiasts, he justified the delay in sending tanks by explaining that this should be a decision in close cooperation with the NATO partners.

After finishing his visit to Argentina, Scholz undertook his first visit to Chile on Sunday, January 29, traveling to Brazil on Monday, January 30.

Petro: the Colombian Constitution mandates peace
On Wednesday, January 25, Gustavo Petro reported that Washington had asked him about the delivery of Russian-made military equipment to Ukraine. He responded that “the Colombian Constitution mandates peace,” and therefore, “no Russian weapon that is in Colombia will be used in Ukraine”.

“We are not on anyone’s side. We are for peace. Therefore, not one unit of Russian military equipment, no matter what condition it is in on our territory, will be used in that conflict,” he said.

“In one of the conversations, General [Laura] Richardson and other representatives of the United States told me that given the impossibility of Colombia keeping Russian weapons in an active state, they would do it themselves and send them to Ukraine,” Petro told TASS.

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Lula will not participate in the war
In Lula’s case, he made his rejection of Scholz’s request to send tank ammunition to Ukraine clear in a meeting between the PT, the Brazilian Armed Forces and Minister of Defense José Múcio

Folha de São Paulo pointed out that the refusal was submitted the day before the dismissal of the commander of the Brazilian Army, General Júlio César de Arruda, due to his response to the attempted coup on January 8.

Germany would have asked Brazil to deliver the Leopard 1 tanks to Ukraine. They use an old 105 mm caliber cannon that is currently only used in Brazil.

The German request to involve Brazil in the conflict against Russia coincides with Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksi Reznikov’s announcement last November that he would ask the Brazilian government for ammunition for the Gepard anti-aircraft tanks.

“I will signal to your government because you have the opportunity to provide us with ammunition for Gepard,” Reznikov said at the time.

Even the government of the former Brazilian president, the far-right Jair Bolsonaro, declared itself neutral in the war in Ukraine. Bolsonaro came under fire from the European and US right-wing when he met with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow just after the start of the war in February 2022.

Lula, who maintains neutrality, previously questioned Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky’s “spectacle” in fomenting war in his own country. According to Europapress, Lula also reproached the Ukrainian president for abandoning negotiations with Russia.

(Últimas Noticias) by Víctor Castellanos

Translation: Orinoco Tribune

OT/KW/SF