U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced visa restrictions on a Brazilian judge following the issuance of search warrants and restraining orders by the country’s Supreme Court against former President Jair Bolsonaro.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, along with unspecified allies on the court and immediate family members, will face visa revocations, Rubio stated, criticizing what he described as a “political witch hunt” targeting the former president.
“President Trump made clear that his administration will hold accountable foreign nationals who are responsible for censorship of protected expression in the United States,” Rubio said in a statement.
“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,” he continued.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced visa restrictions on Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, his unspecified allies on the court and his immediate family members. (JULIEN DE ROSA/POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
The judge added that Trump’s threats of higher tariffs sought to create a serious economic crisis in Brazil to interfere in the country’s judicial system.
Bolsonaro was also prohibited from contacting key allies, including his son Eduardo Bolsonaro, a Brazilian congressman who has been working in the U.S. to gather support for his father.
The former Brazilian president told Reuters he had been talking to his son almost daily and denied any concerted U.S. lobbying effort on his behalf. He said he expected his son to seek U.S. citizenship to avoid returning to Brazil.
A five-judge panel of Brazilian Supreme Court judges upheld Moraes’ decision.
