The U.S. government Monday sanctioned the wife of the Brazilian Supreme Court justice who led the investigation into former President Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced this month to 27 years in prison for attempting a coup in the South American nation.
The Trump administration also revoked the U.S. visa of another Brazilian official, Solicitor-General Jorge Messias, who criticized the decision on his social media channels.
The wife of Justice Alexandre de Moraes, Viviane Barci de Moraes, was sanctioned under the Global Magnitsky Act used by the United States against human rights abusers. Her husband was targeted by the same measure as he oversaw the case against Bolsonaro.
This is the latest chapter in a unilateral wave of attacks from the Trump administration against Brazil, which includes sanctions against other authorities and tariffs of 50% on many of the country's exports to the U.S.
Local media also reported that other judges who worked with de Moraes at the Supreme Court had also lost their U.S. visas, which they did not individually confirm. A holding company of the de Moraes family was also sanctioned under the Magnitsky Act.
De Moraes said in a statement that Brazilian institutions “are strong and sound” and will not be affected by the attacks from the Trump administration. He added the measures against his wife “attack international law, Brazil’s sovereignty and the judiciary’s independence.”
The U.S. State Department said de Moraes “has used his position to weaponize courts, authorize arbitrary pretrial detentions, and suppress freedom of expression.”
“These sanctions build on a series of actions taken by the Trump administration to hold Moraes accountable for abusing his authority, creating a censorship complex, blatantly targeting political opponents, and committing serious human rights abuse,” the statement said.
Bolsonaro was convicted of organizing a coup to illegally remain in office following his electoral defeat to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in 2022. The far-right leader has not been sent to a prison while he files an appeal.
Brazil's solicitor-general Messias said he had received “an unjust attack” from the U.S. government, but will “continue to work with vigor and awareness."
On Friday, Brazil’s health minister Alexandre Padilha said he will not attend the United Nations General Assembly in New York next week because the U.S. government gave him “an unacceptable visa” with mobility restrictions within the country.
The Lula administration protested to the United Nations after Padilha received a much-delayed U.S. visa that limited his movement in New York to the U.N. headquarters and a few blocks close to his hotel. The health minister stayed in Brazil and took part of Sunday's protest in major cities against a potential amnesty bill for Bolsonaro to avoid jail.
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