US cancels military event with Brazil and raises Defense alert

The United States canceled an event that was being organized together with the FAB (Brazilian Air Force) and signaled that it will also stay out of the Navy's main exercise, Operation Formosa.

The signs of distancing from Washington worry the Ministry of Defense , which is trying to shield the strategic sector of military cooperation from the political-economic crisis that has taken hold between Brazil and the US during Donald Trump's presidency.

Southcom (U.S. Southern Command) planned to co-host the 2025 edition of the Americas Space Conference with the Brazilian Air Force. The conference, which would also bring together other countries from the continent, was scheduled to take place from July 29 to 31 in Brasília.

"The event was canceled by decision of the United States on July 23," the FAB said in a statement.

When contacted, US Southern Command did not respond by the time this report was published.

This would be the fourth edition of the meeting. Last year, the event took place in Miami, USA, and featured ten invited countries: Argentina, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.

According to the Southcom website, the main objective of the annual conference is to promote cooperation in the space sector—not only in its military dimension, but also in the economic, telecommunications, research, and navigation areas.

Folha spoke with several people familiar with the organization of the meeting. Although the US did not explain the reason for the cancellation, the decision has been interpreted as yet another reflection of the crisis between the Lula (Workers' Party) and Trump administrations.

The US president accused the Lula administration and the Supreme Federal Court ( STF ) of conducting a "witch hunt" against former President Jair Bolsonaro (PL), a defendant in the coup plot. His administration also imposed financial sanctions against Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes , in addition to revoking the visas of the judge and other members of the court, as well as employees who worked on the Mais Médicos program.

On the economic front, Trump imposed a 50% tariff on a range of Brazilian products . Communication with key officials in Washington has been blocked, according to Lula and his ministers.

The consequences of the crisis between the countries are expected to also affect Operation Formosa — the Brazilian Navy's main exercise.

The Navy is mobilizing around 2,000 military personnel for this year's exercise, with more than 100 vehicles and eight helicopters transported to Formosa (GO).

Since 2023, the U.S. Marines have been sending a contingent of troops to the military exercise. Last year, the delegation included 56 U.S. service members. It was the first time that Chinese and U.S. uniformed personnel participated in the operation together .

Three people familiar with the operation's preparations told Folha that the U.S. Marines did not respond to the Brazilian Navy's invitation to participate in Operation Formosa. The Chinese Marine Corps, meanwhile, has announced that it will not participate in the military exercise.

The Americans have been participating in the operation in the Brazilian Cerrado for about ten years. They previously participated as observers and increased their cooperation two years ago. When contacted, the Brazilian Navy did not respond.

There is resistance within Lula's own administration to the participation of American troops in Taiwan. A group of the president's advisors informed the Defense Department that it was inappropriate to conduct exercises with military personnel from a nation imposing sanctions against Brazil.

The Navy's assessment is that the messages about distancing itself from the US are also related to the strengthening of military ties between Brazil and China.

The Chinese began sending troops to joint military exercises in Brazil last year. On the Brazilian side, the government decided to increase its military representation in Beijing , sending a general officer to the embassy attaché for the first time.

The signals sent by the Americans with the cancellation of events and the possible withdrawal of troops from military exercises do not, however, represent a break in military cooperation between the two countries, three general officers said confidentially.

As an example, they cite that the US Armed Forces sent cargo planes to Campo Grande (MS) at the end of July for the Tápio Joint Exercise, which focuses on simulations of irregular warfare, electronic warfare and peacekeeping missions.

The Army is also moving forward with Operation Core 2025 in November. This is a joint military exercise between Brazil and the United States focused on standardizing procedures between the forces in joint operations and peacekeeping missions. For now, there are no issues with planning in this case, according to Defense Ministry officials.

The Americans' dissatisfaction comes months after the first visit to Brazil by the head of the U.S. Southern Command, Admiral Alvin Holsey . The meeting with Brazilian military personnel was met with unrest and canceled appointments.

The United States requested that Holsey visit an Army base in Rio Branco, Acre. Brazilian generals were surprised by the specific request to visit this base, which does not usually host foreign officials. An attempt was made to redirect the agenda to Manaus, but the Americans declined—which limited Holsey's commitments to Brasília.