U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced late on July 18 that he has revoked the visas of Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, his “allies on the court,” and their close relatives, citing an ongoing “political witch hunt” targeting former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and “censorship of protected expression in the United States.”
Rubio condemned the court’s actions as politically motivated repression.
“Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes’s political witch hunt against Jair Bolsonaro created a persecution and censorship complex so sweeping that it not only violates basic rights of Brazilians, but also extends beyond Brazil’s shores to target Americans.
“I have therefore ordered visa revocations for Moraes and his allies on the court, as well as their immediate family members, effective immediately.”
Authorities allege that the protests were part of a broader conspiracy to overturn the 2022 election results that brought Bolsonaro’s left-wing rival Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to power.
Bolsonaro has consistently denied wrongdoing or any involvement in the alleged coup plot. He has not been convicted but is nonetheless barred from running for public office until 2030.
Trump also cited Brazil’s nontariff trade barriers in his decision to impose the new tariff rate. Brazil is one of the roughly two dozen countries that run a trade deficit with the United States, while almost all other countries targeted by Trump’s tariff measures post large surpluses.
“There will be no Tariff if Brazil, or companies within your Country, decide to build or manufacture product within the United States and, in fact, we will do everything possible to get approvals quickly, professionally, and routinely—in other words, in a matter of weeks,” Trump wrote.
Following the July 18 police raid, Bolsonaro’s son, Brazilian Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, took to social media to urge Trump to “suspend the 50 percent tariff on Brazilian imports and impose individual sanctions instead.” The post was later deleted.
“I am certain that no form of intimidation or threat, from anyone, will compromise the most important mission of national powers and institutions, which is to act permanently in defense and preservation of the Democratic Rule of Law.”