US Secretary of State Marco Rubio reportedly stripped eight of Brazil's 11 Supreme Court judges of the United States Visa judges as the White House escalated its campaign to avoid his alleged attempt to seize power in a military coup.
Bolsonaro, a far-right populist with ties to Donald Trump's Magazine movement, is on trial that is allegedly stuck in power by embracing a murderous plot after losing the 2022 election to left-wing rival Luis Inacio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro is expected to be convicted by the Supreme Court in the coming weeks and faces a sentence of up to 43 years.
As the day of judgment approaches, Trump is increasing pressure on the court and President Lula's administration. On July 9, the US President announced that as of August 1, it would impose a 50% tariff on all Brazilian imports as a result of the persecution of his allies. The move sparked a pouring of nationalist rage in a South American country, which Lula describes as an “unacceptable horror mail.”
On Friday, Rubio released further moves in support of the defendant who claimed to be a victim of a “political witch hunt” after federal police attacked Bolsonaro's home and put an electronic tag on him to stop him from being exempt.
Written in X, Rubio said he ordered the revocation of his visa for Bolsonaro, Alexandre des Moraes, a judge who led the investigation into “an allies in his court” and their families. Rubio did not name his other targets, but Brazilian newspaper O Globo identified them as Luís Roberto Barroso, José Antonio Dias Toffoli, Cristiano Zanin, Flávio Dino, Cármen Lúcia Antunes Rocha, Luiz Edson Fachin and Gilmar Ferrerira Mendes.
Two other judges appointed to the court during Bolsonaro's 2019-23 presidency, Andre Mendonza and Cassio Nunez Marquez, reportedly avoided sanctions, similar to third judge Luis Fax.
Lula denounced what he called “another arbitrary and completely unfounded action from the US government.”
“Interference in the judicial system of other countries is unacceptable and angers the fundamental principles of national sovereignty and respect among nations,” the president said on Saturday, saying, “We certainly compromise on the most important mission of our nation's power and implementation in order to act to exempt and save democratic control.”
Trump strategist Alex Bruzewitz welcomed Rubio's announcement and called Bolsonaro's treatment “disease and wrong.”
Bolsonaro's son Eduardo thanked Rubio for his decision. “We are grateful for this fight in support of freedom of speech. We believe in the same value,” tweeted Eduardo, who has been living in the United States since February and has lobbyed staff in his father's light letter.
Trump's intervention has horrified millions of Brazilians who want to be held responsible for the allegedly culminated in the January 8 riot in Brasilia.
Lula's Minister of Institutional Affairs Graci Hoffman called the cancellation of the visa “an offensive and trivial retaliation” and “a humiliation to Brazil's judicial and national sovereignty.”
Even the influential right-wing voices have criticized the US attempt to interfere in one of the world's most populous democracies by imposing a 50% tariff.
On Saturday, the conservative Estado de Sao Paulo newspaper described Trump's actions as “unacceptable external interference in Brazil's domestic issues.” “Trump not only attacked our national sovereignty… (but) just tainted the history of diplomatic relations between the two biggest democracies in the Americas,” the newspaper editorial board wrote.
Although Bolsonaros welcomes Trump's actions, they also appear to have a grasp on how the tariff announcement is backfiring, with Lula posing as a nationalist advocate for Brazilian interests, portraying the Bolsonaro family as a self-serving “betrayal.”
Faced with public disillusionment and a difficult fight to win reelection next year, Lula has enjoyed bouncebacks in polls since Trump launched a trade war, which will be borne by coffee producers and cattle ranchers in areas voting for Bolsonaro, such as Sao Paulo.
Political columnist Celso Rocha de Barros said he suspected Bolsonaros was blind due to the scale of Trump's attack.
“I think (Bolsonaro) wanted some kind of penalty — here's what he could use:
On Friday night, Senator Flavio, Bolsonaro's son, posted to X, calling on Trump to suspend tariffs and replace them with individual sanctions. But soon he deleted the post.
