[13] The relationship became strained in 2000, when a Brazilian Parliamentary Commission [pt] into the illegal drug trade wanted to question Surinamese ambassador Rupert Christopher [nl].

[16] In 2009, riots erupted in the Surinamese town of Albina after a Maroon inhabitant of the area was allegedly stabbed by a Brazilian immigrant.

It was the first visit to Suriname by a Brazilian head of state since 2005, when then-President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva was in Paramaribo.

[20] A large portion of the Brazilians are garimpeiros (illegal gold prospectors) who have created villages like Villa Brazil,[21] and Antonio do Brinco.

[22] The Brazilian word garimpeiro has become the generic term for artisan gold prospectors both in Suriname and French Guiana.