Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Friday revoked the visa of the U.S. State Department official Darren Beattie. Brazil’s Supreme Court on Thursday had blocked Beattie’s request to visit jailed former president Jair Bolsonaro, a rival of Lula.
Lula said the move was reciprocal after the United States last year revoked visas from Brazilian officials linked to Cuba’s overseas doctors program. He added Beattie would remain barred until visas for Brazil’s health minister and his family are restored.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes of Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled that Beattie’s planned prison visit would amount to “undue interference” in Brazil’s politics during an election year. Moraes is the judge that sentenced Bolsonaro to three decades of prison for allegedly attempting to coup the government after losing the 2022 presidential election to Lula.
The move raises tensions between Brasília and Washington, which have already repeatedly found themselves at odds over trade, free speech, and Bolsonaro during the second Trump administration.
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