The United States has revoked the visa of Brazil’s ambassador in Washington after Brazil delayed approval of President Donald Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador and denied visas to two American diplomats, further escalating tensions between the two countries.
The U.S. State Department said Brazilian Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti’s visa could be restored if Brazil grants formal approval for Daniel Perez, Trump’s nominee for ambassador. U.S. officials described the move as a reciprocal diplomatic response rather than an expulsion.
Brazil rejected Washington’s decision, calling it unjustified and based on false claims. The government said its review of Perez’s nomination was being handled according to international diplomatic procedures, arguing that the United States should have secured Brazil’s approval before publicly announcing the nomination.
The dispute intensified after Brazil refused visas last month to two officials from the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. Brazilian authorities said the officials intended to interfere in the country’s electoral process by questioning its voting system.
The diplomatic standoff comes amid growing political tensions ahead of Brazil’s presidential election in October. Recent opinion polls suggest President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is leading Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who remains under house arrest over an alleged 2022 coup plot.
Washington said it wants to restore normal diplomatic relations but insists that cooperation cannot remain one sided. U.S. officials also stressed that they respect the Brazilian people’s right to choose their government through free and fair elections.
Relations between the two countries have deteriorated in recent months, with both governments accusing each other of interfering in domestic affairs. The dispute has also affected trade after the Trump administration imposed tariffs on several Brazilian products, prompting Lula to accuse the Bolsonaro family of encouraging the measures for political advantage, an allegation they deny.
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