The U.S. government has suspended visas for eight members of Brazil’s Supreme Court, including Minister Alexandre de Moraes and Attorney General Paulo Gonet, according to sources from the Palácio do Planalto. The U.S. administration has indicated that it would notify those affected by this decision via email. However, as of now, no official list of the impacted individuals has been released by the management of former President Donald Trump, and Brazil has not received formal communication on the matter.
Sources indicate that the following Supreme Court ministers have been affected: Luís Roberto Barroso (president), Edson Fachin (vice-president), Dias Toffoli, Cristiano Zanin, Flávio Dino, Cármen Lúcia, and Gilmar Mendes. Ministers André Mendonça, Nunes Marques, and Luiz Fux reportedly did not face any repercussions from this action.
Paulo Figueiredo, a journalist allied with the Bolsonaro family, confirmed these names, expressing uncertainty about potential consequences. He referenced Trump’s willingness to take decisive measures, alluding to the Magnitsky Act.
U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced the visa revocations, asserting that they were in response to Moraes’s alleged political persecution of Jair Bolsonaro, which he argued violated basic rights of Brazilians and affected Americans as well.
Following the announcement, Brazilian Minister of Institutional Relations, Gleisi Hoffmann, affirmed that nearly all Supreme Court ministers had their visas revoked, except for a few.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva condemned the action as an “arbitrary and baseless measure,” emphasizing that interference in one nation’s judicial system by another is unacceptable and undermines sovereignty among nations.
This situation reflects the growing tensions between the U.S. and Brazil regarding judicial independence and political actions, showcasing the potential for international relations to directly impact domestic legal proceedings.
Overall, while this news has sparked significant concern in Brazil regarding foreign intervention in domestic affairs, it also highlights the importance of maintaining judicial independence and sovereignty in a global context.