Communities in Latin America came together to denounce the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh earlier this week.
The Hamas chief had gained a following in the region, especially after his children and grandchildren were killed during Israel’s current bombing campaign in Gaza.
We take a look at what some of the leaders of the Global South said.
Brazil
The Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs has released an official statement saying it “vehemently condemns” the assassination of Haniyeh.
Brazil, the ministry added, “repudiates the flagrant disrespect for Iran’s sovereignty and territorial integrity, in clear violation of the principles of the United Nations Charter, and reaffirms that acts of violence, under any motivation, do not contribute to the search for lasting stability and peace in the Middle East.”
The assassination “further hinders the chances of a political solution to the conflict in Gaza by negatively impacting the talks that were taking place for a ceasefire,” it explained. A truce agreement is “essential”, it said.
Brazil’s Vice President, Geraldo Alckmin, also attended the Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian’s inauguration where he was seated only four seats away from Haniyeh just hours before the latter was killed.
Venezuela
The Venezuelan government said it considers Haniyeh’s assassination “a terrorist act against the number one of the political bureau of this organization.”
In a statement, Caracas expressed “its deepest rejection of the terrorist attack” which it stressed “flagrantly violated Iran’s sovereignty” and “adds to the constant aggression that the Palestinian people are experiencing.”
The killing of Haniyeh, it added, “removes the possibility of achieving a prompt solution to the systematic genocide propagated by the terrorist state of Israel.”
Venezuela also “demands the cessation of all acts of intimidation and extermination towards the brave Palestinian people” and “reiterates once again its rejection of terrorism in all its forms and hopes for the extinction of this type of practice that subjects entire peoples to fear and violence.”
Cuba
In Cuba, the President Miguel Díaz-Canel condemned Haniyeh’s assassination saying that it is an act that violates international law and further destabilizes the Middle East.
Taking to X, he wrote: “Cuba firmly condemns the assassination of Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran, in clear violation of international law and further endangering the situation in the Middle East, regional peace and security.”
“My heartfelt condolences to the brotherly Palestinian people, family and friends of Ismail Haniyeh.”
Likewise, the head of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Cuba, Emilio Lozada, condemned the assassination and described it as “brutal”, adding that it was a “flagrant violation of the sovereignty” of Iran, warning of the consequences of such a move.
Nicaragua
Nicaragua condemned the “cowardly assassination” of Haniyeh, describing it as “one more act of interference, destabilization and serious aggression against the already weakened and much-needed peace in the world.”
In a statement, Vice President Rosario Murillo said: “The government warns of the dangerous consequences that this new crime poses for the region and the world.”
“Our ongoing solidarity with the Palestinian families and people is well known, always fighting together to stop the brutality, savagery and sustained genocide against this heroic people,” the government said.
-Eman Abusidu is MEMO’s correspondent in Brazil.
