The U.S. State Department has revoked the visa of Brazil’s ambassador to the United States, Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, a senior department official said, intensifying an already strained diplomatic standoff between Washington and Brasília.
According to the official, Viotti’s visa would be restored immediately if Brazil grants agrément — the formal diplomatic consent required for an ambassadorial posting — to President Trump’s choice for U.S. ambassador to Brazil, Daniel Perez. Brasília has so far declined to approve Perez, the Republican speaker of the Florida House of Representatives and a close ally of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, effectively blocking him from assuming the role.
“They have not only delayed, but put out signals that they will probably delay until after their election there, which is a long time coming,” the official said. The person added that the visa action comes “in the context of several other diplomatic disputes that have developed over the last year or so.”
The official said the Trump administration believes “the government of Brazil owes us a prompt and positive answer” on Perez’s ambassadorial nomination.
Brazil sharply criticized the State Department’s decision, rejecting the U.S. explanation and saying in a statement that the “justifications offered for the decision are false.” The Brazilian government also argued that Washington announced Perez as its intended ambassador before formally seeking Brazil’s approval, saying “the name of a proposed ambassador should be made public only after consent has been granted.”
“Today’s decision is not an isolated incident. It forms part of a deliberate escalation of hostile measures against Brazil, driven by ideological motives that are incompatible with a bilateral partnership that has always been guided by mutual respect,” Brazil’s statement said.
The clash follows Brazil’s move in July to deny visas to two U.S. State Department officials. Brazilian authorities accused the officials of trying to interfere in the country’s October elections by raising questions about the integrity of its voting system. The State Department dismissed the allegations as unfounded, saying the planned trip by officials from the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor was part of standard diplomatic outreach.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is seeking reelection and is set to face Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro. The elder Bolsonaro, a Trump ally, is serving a 27-year prison sentence over his role in an attempted coup after losing Brazil’s 2022 election.
The ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Brazil also include the levying of 25% tariffs on imports from Brazil last month, with Washington citing what it called unfair trade practices, including its rules regulating U.S. tech platforms.
Lula condemned the tariffs, denying “the alleged unfair trade practices” and adding, “There is no justification for unilateral measures against our country. According to statistics from the U.S. government itself, the United States has accumulated a surplus of $424.5 billion in goods and services with Brazil over the past 15 years.”
Lula, prior to the tariffs going into effect, suggested the decision was political in nature and blamed the younger Bolsonaro, who had recently visited Washington.
Shortly after that May visit, the Trump administration moved to classify two Brazilian drug trafficking groups, Comando Vermelho and Primeiro Comando da Capital, as foreign terrorist organizations. Lula also harshly criticized that move, saying at a public event, “We will not accept being treated like children, we will not accept being treated as if we were a banana republic,” according to Reuters, accusing Rubio of saying “that our criminals are terrorists and that Americans can intervene.”
