 "US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. File image/ Reuters")
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio has reportedly stripped American visas of Brazil’s eight Supreme Court judges in a show of support for the country’s former President Jair Bolsonaro . The far-right Brazilian leader with strong ties with US President Donald Trump is on trial for allegedly masterminding a murderous plot to cling to power after losing the 2022 election to Brazil’s current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro is expected to be convicted by the Brazilian Supreme Court in the coming weeks and might face a jail sentence of up to 43 years. As the day of sentencing nears, Trump has been increasing pressure on Brazil to help out his “friend”.
In light of this, Trump announced on July 9 that he would impose 50% tariffs on all Brazilian imports as of August 1. The threat triggered nationalist sentiments in Brazil, with Lula threatening reciprocal tariffs. The Brazilian president went on to describe Trump’s move as “unacceptable blackmail”.
Who got their visa stripped?
On Friday, Brazil’s federal police raided Bolsonaro’s house and ordered him to wear an ankle tag in a bid to stop him from absconding. Soon after that, Rubio announced further moves in support of the former Brazilian president, who claimed that the case against him is a “political witch hunt”.
Rubio announced the move in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. He said that he had ordered visa revocations for the judge leading the investigation into Bolsonaro, Alexandre de Moraes, as well as “his allies on the court” and their family members.
While the secretary of state did not mention the names of other judges, Brazilian newspaper Globo identified them as Luís Roberto Barroso, José Antonio Dias Toffoli, Cristiano Zanin, Flávio Dino, Cármen Lúcia Antunes Rocha, Luiz Edson Fachin and Gilmar Ferreira Mendes.
Interestingly, two other judges who were nominated to the court during Bolsonaro’s 2019-23 presidency, André Mendonça and Kassio Nunes Marques, reportedly avoided the sanction along with a third judge, Luiz Fux.
Lula hits back
Meanwhile, the Brazilian president denounced what he described as “another arbitrary and completely groundless measure from the US government”.
“Interference in another country’s justice system is unacceptable and offends the basic principles of national sovereignty and respect between nations,” the president said on Saturday, adding: “I’m certain that no kind of intimidation or threat – from whoever it may be – will compromise the most important mission of our nation’s powers and institutions, which is to act permanently to defend and safeguard the democratic rule of law.”
Meanwhile, Trump’s Alex Bruesewitz welcomed Rubio’s announcement, describing Bolsonaro’s treatment in the country as “sick and wrong”.
Bolsonaro’s son, Eduardo, went on to thank Rubio for his decision. “Thank you very much for this fight in favour of free speech, we do believe in the same values,” tweeted Eduardo, who has been living in the US since February and has reportedly been lobbying officials there over his father’s plight," Eduardo said in the post.