In March 2005, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva offered the US government to help soothe Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and defuse the tension in Bolivia with the impending takeover of Evo Morales, said on Tuesday a Brazilian newspaper.

The then Brazilian Chief of Staff José Dirceu conveyed the proposal to US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, according to a telegram sent from Washington to the US embassy in Brasilia and accessed by daily newspaper Valor, Efe reported.

The telegram, to which the economic daily asked for access after having expired the legal secrecy term, is the abstract of a conversation held by Rice and Dirceu on March 3rd, 2005 in Washington. At that time, Dirceu was viewed as the Brazilian President's right hand. Later on, he was forced to resign amidst a corruption scandal.

In the conversation, according to the paper quoted by the daily, Rice said that Brazil should cash in on its influence on the hemisphere to send Chávez a "clear message."