Brazil’s Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday that it has denied visas to two U.S. State Department officials. This latest development highlights political tensions between the two nations.
The announcement followed a report by The Washington Post. It stated that Brazilian authorities were concerned the visit by Riley M. Barnes, an assistant secretary, and Samuel Samson, a deputy assistant, could influence the upcoming October elections in Brazil. A spokesperson for Brazil’s foreign office confirmed that the visa requests, made on July 20, were refused. However, the spokesperson did not provide specific reasons for the denial.
The October elections will see Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva running against Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro. The Bolsonaro family is known for its connections with the Trump administration.
In May, Sen. Bolsonaro, alongside his brother Eduardo, visited U.S. officials, including then-President Donald Trump, in Washington. Soon after, the Trump administration labeled Brazil’s significant drug-trafficking groups, First Command Capital and Red Command, as foreign terrorist organizations. Lula’s administration opposed this classification. Furthermore, the U.S. administration increased tariffs on numerous Brazilian exports by up to 37.5%. This measure, effective Friday, was justified by the U.S. government as a response to what it sees as Brazil’s unfair competition and labor practices. The Lula administration has dismissed these accusations, viewing them as an attempt to influence voters in favor of Sen. Bolsonaro.
According to the U.S. State Department, Barnes and Samson planned to visit Brasília from July 27-30. They intended to discuss topics like election integrity, religious freedom, and freedom of expression. The department described this visit as routine and firmly denied any suggestion of an attempt to interfere with Brazil’s elections.
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has expressed doubts about the country’s electronic voting system for years, though he has never provided evidence. Currently, he is serving a 27-year home sentence for attempting a coup. Jair Bolsonaro has consistently claimed that the electronic voting machines, which have been in use for 25 years, are vulnerable to fraud. Recently, his son Sen. Bolsonaro repeated some of these allegations but chose not to mention them during his nomination as a presidential candidate by the Liberal Party in Sao Paulo.
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