The administration of President Donald Trump has revoked the visa of Brazil’s ambassador to the United States, Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, in the latest sign of a deepening diplomatic rift between the two countries, according to aljazeera.com.
An anonymous US State Department official told reporters on Tuesday that the visa had been temporarily cancelled. However, the official stressed that the ambassador was not being expelled from the country.
‘The action was that the visa of a senior diplomat here was revoked or cancelled. That is not the same thing as kicking the person out of the country,’ the official said.
The move is framed as retaliation for Brazil’s decision to withhold approval for Trump’s chosen ambassador to Brazil, Danny Perez. The US official explained that Ribeiro Viotti’s visa would be restored if Brazil grants approval to Perez.
‘It means that they are here but without a visa, and would have their visa restored if the balance is restored by giving agreement to our chosen ambassadorial nominee,’ the official said.
Perez, a Florida state representative and Republican ally of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, was nominated in June but has yet to be confirmed by the full US Senate. Media reports indicate that Trump publicly nominated Perez before reaching out to Brazil, which Brazilian government sources considered a breach of protocol. They intend to probe Perez’s nomination before issuing formal approval, without which he cannot take up his post in Brasilia.
The tit-for-tat over ambassadors is likely to ratchet up long-simmering tensions between Washington and Brazil, the US’s largest South American trading partner.
Last month, Brazil denied visas to officials from the US State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, after voicing concerns that the delegation intended to undermine the country’s election system. Brazil is set to elect its president in October.
Trump is considered a close ally of the Bolsonaro family, a powerful political dynasty on Brazil’s far right. His first term overlapped with the presidency of Jair Bolsonaro, nicknamed the ‘Trump of the Tropics’. His son, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, is on the ballot this election season.
Both Trump and the elder Bolsonaro have used false claims of election fraud to dispute unfavourable results. Trump has also sought to boost right-wing candidates across Latin America since the start of his second term, even threatening to withhold US funds depending on election outcomes.
With Latin America shifting rightwards, Brazil remains the largest country governed by a left-wing leader: President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. He has emerged as a vocal critic of Trump’s attempts to increase US influence in the region.
Lula defeated the elder Bolsonaro in the 2022 elections and is seeking a fourth, non-consecutive term this October, with Flavio Bolsonaro as his top rival. Since being voted out, Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison for his role in an alleged plot to overthrow the 2022 election results.
Trump vocally rejected Bolsonaro’s prosecution, which was recommended by Brazil’s Federal Police. Last year, the US president placed steep tariffs on Brazil, demanding that prosecutors end their case. Though the tariffs were lifted, the US announced in July that it would impose 25 percent tariffs, this time accusing Brazil of unfair trade practices.
Brazilian authorities remain wary that the US might seek to influence the outcome of October’s presidential election in favour of Flavio Bolsonaro. Lula formally launched his campaign bid on Sunday, framing the race as a question of national sovereignty – and the ‘future of Latin America’.