Brazilian President and candidate for re-election in October, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, announced measures at an event this Friday to strengthen security and national sovereignty amid international pressure over the country’s oil companies and strategic minerals.

The measures include converting 138 prisons into maximum-security units, reinforcing border surveillance, and creating a ministry for the sector. The event presented integrated actions by security forces to combat organized crime.

RELATED: Lula Brazil Election Mobilization: 5 Powerful Final Moves Amid Tight Race

The public security budget needs to be increased and the number of police and military personnel expanded, the head of state mentioned. “We cannot control 18,000 kilometers of border without investment,” he stressed.

Brazil has 16,800 kilometers of land borders from Argentina to Suriname and the Guianas, plus another 8,000 kilometers of maritime border and 5.7 million kilometers under its jurisdiction, Lula said. “And now we have oil in the Equatorial Margin. So we have to protect it,” he added.

U.S. interests in Brazil’s resources drew condemnation. “Trump is over there, after critical minerals, after oil, after rare earths. No! That is ours,” the president emphasized.

On Wednesday, White House criticism that Brazil lacks strategies in combating organized crime was rejected by the Brazilian government. Security efforts include the recent approval of a law that increases prison sentences for gang leaders and numerous police operations, Brazilian authorities pointed out.

IN THIS ARTICLE