The Trump administration has revoked the visa of Brazil's ambassador to the United States in retaliation for Brazil's denial of visas last month for two American diplomats who sought to visit ahead of upcoming elections, as well as for Brazil's stalling on approving President Trump's nominee to be ambassador in Brasilia. The State Department said the decision was a reciprocal response to Brazil's actions and officials said the step had been delayed several times to give Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva room to back down, something he did not do. Officials said, however, that it could be quickly reversed if Brazil takes appropriate action and accepts Trump's ambassadorial choice, the AP reports.
Despite the revocation of her visa, Brazil's ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti is not being expelled from the United States, said one State Department official, who, like several others, spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive diplomatic matter. The ambassador was previously a senior United Nations official. She could be allowed to resume her official duties if the Brazilian government accepts Trump's choice of former Florida House speaker Danny Perez to be US ambassador to Brazil. Perez was nominated to the post in June and the official said Brazil had signaled it would not act on the appointment until after the October election.
- In addition to stalling on Perez, Brazil denied visas last month for Riley Barnes, the assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, and one of his top aides after reports emerged that the pair were going to criticize Lula or the election process.
- The State Department denied the allegations and said the two had planned to visit Brasilia on July 27-30 to meet government officials, religious leaders and others about "election integrity," religious freedom, and freedom of expression.
- Trump has had a fractious relationship for some time with Lula's administration, which has opposed him on numerous policies, particularly in the Western Hemisphere regarding Venezuela and Cuba. Their relationship also has been strained by Trump's fondness for Lula's predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, and his son, Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, who is Lula's main opponent in the October election.
- Jair Bolsonaro has for years fed concerns about the country's electronic voting system, without providing any evidence for his claims. He is now serving a 27-year prison sentence at home for an attempted coup. His son has recently repeated some of these claims, although he steered clear of those on Saturday when his Liberal Party confirmed him as a presidential candidate.
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