US Secretary of State revokes visa of Alexandre de Moraes and “allies” of the STF
The Secretary of State of the United States, Marco Rubio, announced on Friday (18) the revocation of the American visas of the Supreme Court Minister (STF) Alexandre de Moraes, his “allies” in court and his close relatives. Rubio did not nominally mentioned other STF ministers, said who the “allies” of the Court are, nor did it detract from how the measure will be officialized.
The decision was justified by Rubio as a response to Moraes’s performance, which, according to him, promotes a “political witch hunt” against former President Jair Bolsonaro, ally of Donald Trump’s government.
Rubio wrote at X:
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“@Potus (President Donald Trump) made it clear that his administration will be responsible for foreign citizens who are responsible for censorship of protected expressions in the United States. The political witches hunting of the Brazilian Supreme Court Minister, Alexandre de Moraes, against Jair Bolsonaro has created a complex of persecution and censorship so comprehensive that not only violates basic rights of Brazilians, but also extends beyond Brazil’s borders to reach Americans.
Therefore, I ordered the revocation of the visas of Moraes and their allies in court, as well as their immediate family members, with immediate effect.“
Federal Deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of the former president, expressed support for Rubio and Trump’s decision, noting that now Brazilian authorities, such as Moraes, may also be prevented from visiting the United States. Eduardo, who resides in the US, publicly thanked the measure.
“I can’t see my father and now have Brazilian authority that can’t see their families in the US too – or perhaps they will even lose their visas,” wrote Eduardo Bolsonaro, who ends the message in X saying that “Guaranteed I can only say one thing: there is a lot more to come!”.
Bolsonaro is accused of a attack on sovereignty based on law that he himself sanctioned
Moraes cites articulation with Trump government and sees attempted to subordinate STF to foreign interests
PF saw risk of escape and threat to sovereignty in an investigation against Bolsonaro
Former president is the target of operation for funding actions against Brazil and the powers, with concrete effects after Trump measures
Anklet
The revocation of the visas happens on the same day Moraes determined that Bolsonaro will wear an electronic anklet, following a request from the Attorney General’s Office (PGR).
The decision, authorized on Friday (18) after request from the Federal Police (PF) with a favorable opinion of the Attorney General’s Office (PGR), is based on the suspicion that Bolsonaro finances an international articulation led by his son Eduardo, with the purpose of embarrassing STF, PGR and PF authorities through the imposition of sanctions by the United States.
The operation that performed the measures included searches at the former president’s residence and at the Liberal Party headquarters (PL) in Brasilia. Bolsonaro has already attended the PF headquarters for the installation of the electronic anklet.
For PGR, Eduardo Bolsonaro has been acting “repeatedly and publicly” to pressure Brazilian authorities from their influence on the United States government, asking, for example, sanctions from STF ministers, blockade, revolving visas and restriction on commercial relations with Brazil. The PGR states that these actions have “evident retaliatory motivation” and seek to embarrass the judgment of the father, who is a defendant in the Supreme Court.
In the decision, Moraes pointed out that Jair Bolsonaro’s performance, supporting and financed these initiatives, demonstrates deliberate attempt to “submit the operation of the Supreme Court to the sieve of a foreign state”, in clear violation of national sovereignty.
The decision directly mentions the 50% rate announced by US President Donald Trump about all Brazilian products. The measure, according to Eduardo Bolsonaro himself, was the result of his performance with the US government. He even released a joint letter with influencer Paulo Figueiredo, defendant and fugitive from Brazilian justice, extolling the sanction.
According to Moraes, the purpose of tariffs would be to “create a serious economic crisis in Brazil to generate political and social pressure on the judiciary” and directly influence the outcome of the trial of the criminal action of the coup.
