Brazil has denied visas to two officials from the administration of United States President Donald Trump who sought to travel to the country to meet with electoral officials ahead of October’s presidential election.
A Brazilian Foreign Office spokesman said Saturday that Riley M. Barnes, assistant secretary of the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, along with Deputy Assistant Secretary Samuel Samson, had requested the visa on July 20.
The spokesperson said the delegation’s visa request was rejected on Friday.
What did Brazil say?
Washington Post The planned visit of the two envoys was first reported, citing senior Brazilian officials, who said they were aware of a US “move” that was “totally incompatible with Brazilian democracy”.
News agency Reuters quoted a Brazilian official as saying the visa refusal was based on “evidence pointing to a new attempt to politically exploit the situation and undermine the electoral system”.
What did Washington say?
The U.S. State Department said later Saturday that Barnes and Samson planned to visit the South American country’s capital, Brazil, from July 27 to 30 to discuss “election integrity,” religious freedom and freedom of expression with government officials, religious leaders and others.
The Associated Press quoted the department as saying the visit was routine and “any suggestion of a ‘move’ to undermine a democratic nation’s elections is a baseless lie.”
Brazil is ready for elections
Presidential elections in Brazil are scheduled to be held on October 4.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is seeking re-election against Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
The right-wing Liberal Party on Saturday announced Flavio as its candidate for the presidential race.
The senior Bolsonaro, Jair, is under house arrest as he serves a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup following his defeat by Lula in a 2022 election.
The former Brazilian leader also made baseless allegations that his country’s electronic voting system was vulnerable to fraud.
Flavio recently reiterated some of his father’s claims.
Bolsonaro-Trump relations
Jair is a friend and ally of Trump and the Bolsonaro family has ties to the Trump administration.
In May Flavio and his brother Eduardo met with US officials in Washington, including Trump.
The Trump administration classified Brazil’s two largest drug-trafficking groups as foreign terrorist organizations in protest against Lula.
Jair was dubbed the “Trump of the Tropics” during his tenure.
Trump criticized Jair’s trial, calling it a “witch hunt.”
Edited by: Kieran Burke
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