Venezuela and Cuba pledged continued cooperation with Brazil after Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeated Flávio Bolsonaro in the presidential runoff.

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Venezuela and Cuba congratulated Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on his election victory, reaffirming their commitment to regional cooperation after he defeated Liberal Party candidate Flávio Bolsonaro in the presidential runoff.

RELATED: Massive Celebrations Erupt Across Brazil After Lula’s Run-off Victory

Venezuela’s government praised Brazilian voters for their participation in Sunday’s election, calling it a strong demonstration of civic engagement and democracy.

“The people of Brazil have given a resounding demonstration of civic and democratic participation,” Venezuelan Foreign Minister Félix Plasencia González said in a statement posted on social media.

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A post shared by Félix Plasencia González (@plasenciafelixr)

Text Reads: The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela congratulates the massive and civic participation of the pueblo of the Federative Republic of Brazil in the second electoral victory celebrated today that leads to the victory of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Caracas also reaffirmed its commitment to maintaining longstanding ties with Brazil, citing peace, respect for national sovereignty, self-determination and solidarity among Latin American and Caribbean nations.

Lula secured more than 64 million votes, representing 51.77% of valid ballots, defeating Bolsonaro, a senator and candidate for the Liberal Party (PL).

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel described the result as a historic victory that would help preserve the pursuit of social justice. He also pledged Cuba’s support for greater regional unity and integration.

“Brazil can count on Cuba as we build unity and integration across our great Latin American and Caribbean homeland,” Díaz-Canel said.

Estimado hermano @LulaOficial, te felicito en nombre del gobierno y pueblo cubanos por esta victoria histórica que garantiza la continuidad del camino de paz, soberanía y justicia social emprendido por el pueblo brasileño bajo tu liderazgo.

1/2 pic.twitter.com/5U9azS8Mvc

— Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez (@DiazCanelB) October 26, 2026

Text Reads: Dear brother @LulaOficial, on behalf of the Cuban government and people, I congratulate you for this historic victory that ensures the continuity of the path of peace, sovereignty, and social justice embarked upon by the Brazilian people under your leadership.

Former Argentine President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner also congratulated Lula, first praising Brazilian voters for their mobilization and then highlighting the president’s ability to rally support.

“Congratulations first to the Brazilian people, who today took part in an authentic electoral October 17, and then to you, comrade President Lula, who, in your seventh presidential election, knew how to awaken among your fellow citizens the feelings and sense of purpose needed to win this battle,” she wrote.

Former Bolivian President Evo Morales welcomed the outcome as a source of renewed hope for people across the continent fighting for social justice, dignity and sovereignty.

Addressing Lula as a close ally and fellow campaigner, Morales called the result a “beautiful and heroic victory.” The messages from Venezuela, Cuba, Argentina and Bolivia reflected the regional significance these leaders attached to Lula’s election win.

In his address to the UN General Assembly, US President Donald Trump said that the Cuban government is a failed state currently under enormous pressure: “My administration seeks a fundamental change in the situation in Cuba… It is an absolute failed state… and it will fall. Marco Rubio is leading the negotiations.”

In response, the Cuban delegation stood up and walked out of the plenary session in protest. Trump continued: “Cuba is a haven for foreign adversaries who threaten America right on our doorstep… The Cuban regime has also spent decades coordinating with left-wing radicals and communist networks here in the United States… They have cultivated ties with subversive and radical groups.”

The remarks did not go over well in Havana, where the government has categorically rejected the US right-wing leader’s statements. Leading the response is the country’s president, Miguel Díaz-Canel, who asserted that freedom in Cuba is non-negotiable.

“Freedom came to Cuba on January 1, 1959, [the date the Cuban Revolution began], and we are not going to lose it; we are going to defend it. Once again, we are seeing the true face of that empire and its contempt for the peoples of Latin America – and in particular for Cuba and the Cuban Revolution – because of what it represents.”

Díaz-Canel made the remarks on a program called Criterio Compartido on Radio Rebelde. In them, Díaz-Canel described Trump’s statements as “arrogant,” “high-handed,” and “interventionist.”

He also asserted that behind Trump’s thinking lies a justification for a certain view of US imperialism: “what most underpins that genocidal, criminal, and contemptuous mindset toward Cuba and the Cuban people.”

Regarding the label of “failed state,” the leader of the Communist Party of Cuba said: “They are always trying to label us a failed state to shift the blame for the genocide they are committing with that intensified and prolonged blockade.”

Díaz-Canel is referring not only to the long and sustained economic and commercial blockade that the United States unilaterally imposed on Cuba in an effort to defeat the revolution that began in 1959. In US President Donald Trump’s first term, he imposed an additional 243 sanctions on the Caribbean island and added Cuba to the State Sponsors of Terrorism (SSoT) list, which devastated the Cuban economy. In January 2026, Trump further tightened the grip by imposing an energy blockade on Cuba.

Since early 2026, following the US attack on Venezuela that resulted in the capture of President Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, and the deaths of more than 100 people – including several dozen Cubans – Cuba lost one of its main energy partners, which used to supply crude oil to the Cuban power grid.

Since then, only one Russian ship has managed to circumvent the US blockade; the United States is currently threatening to impose additional tariffs on any country that sells fuel to Cuba. This has triggered Cuba’s worst energy crisis, which is hindering the normal operation of hospitals, schools, and food production, among other essential activities.

Cuba has denounced the blockade as a form of “silent genocide,” specifically because of the direct humanitarian consequences it is having on the civilian population, which has seen a reduction not only in its electricity supply but also in access to surgeries, water, food, and so on.

In this regard, Díaz-Canel has once again emphasized on X that Cuba does not pose a threat to the United States; rather, it is the United States that is endangering Cuba’s civilian population: “Unable to justify the punishment against the people of Cuba and its genocidal economic war, the US president repeats at the UN that Cuba poses a threat. Lies are the weapon of those who refuse to accept the Cuban people’s right to self-determination.”

He concluded: “We will continue to fight for peace, defend our sovereignty, and work together to overcome the ruthless aggression imposed on us by the US government. Cuba is not a threat, the blockade is.”