President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has announced that another member of Brazil\u2019s government has had his United States visa revoked, as part of an escalating political feud between the two countries.<\/p>\n
On Tuesday, Lula revealed to his cabinet that Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski was recently stripped of his visa, a move the president described as \u201cirresponsible\u201d on the US\u2019s part.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted to express my solidarity and the government\u2019s solidarity with my colleague Lewandowski who faced with the irresponsible gesture of the United States in revoking his visa,\u201d Lula told his ministers.<\/p>\n
Lula added that Brazil would not tolerate being treated as lesser by other countries. He also underscored that Brazil had its own constitution and rule of law to follow.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are willing to sit at the table on equal terms. What we are not willing to do is be treated as if we were subordinates. We will not accept that from anyone,\u201d Lula said.<\/p>\n
Brazil and the US have long been allies and trading partners, but those relations have grown strained since the start of US President Donald Trump\u2019s second term.<\/p>\n
Trump has shared an affinity for Brazil\u2019s Jair Bolsonaro, a fellow far-right leader whose time as president overlapped with Trump\u2019s first term. Bolsonaro served from 2019 to 2023, while Trump was in office from 2017 to 2021.<\/p>\n
But Bolsonaro has faced trial this year for allegedly scheming with his allies to orchestrate a coup d\u2019etat, after his narrow loss to Lula in the 2022 presidential election.<\/p>\n
Bolsonaro has denied wrongdoing, but prosecutors allege<\/a> he plotted several options to orchestrate the violent overthrow of Lula\u2019s government, including by declaring a \u201cstate of siege\u201d, calling up the military and holding new elections.<\/p>\n The former president now remains under house arrest, as a verdict in the case approaches in early September.<\/p>\n Trump\u2019s opposition to Bolsonaro trial<\/p>\n Trump, however, has sought to pressure the Brazilian government to drop the case against Bolsonaro, calling the trial a \u201cwitch hunt\u201d.<\/p>\n On July 7, he posted<\/a> on his social media platform Truth Social a message in support of Bolsonaro, nicknamed the \u201cTrump of the Tropics\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cHe is not guilty of anything, except having fought for THE PEOPLE,\u201d Trump wrote.<\/p>\n Then, two days later, Trump followed that message with a letter<\/a> addressed to President Lula himself, announcing that Brazil would face 50-percent tariffs on all its exports to the US. The steep tariffs, Trump explained<\/a>, were a reaction to Brazil\u2019s treatment of Bolsonaro.<\/p>\n \u201cThe way that Brazil has treated former President Bolsonaro, a Highly Respected Leader throughout the World during his Term, including by the United States, is an international disgrace,\u201d Trump wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cThis trial should not be taking place. It is a Witch Hunt that should end IMMEDIATELY!\u201d<\/p>\n Those tariffs took effect on August 1<\/a>, putting Brazil at the highest US tariff rate in the world. India is slated to face 50-percent tariffs as well, starting on Wednesday, as a result of its petrol imports from Russia.<\/p>\n But the tariffs are not the only action the Trump administration has taken against Brazil to force an end to Bolsonaro\u2019s trial.<\/p>\n The Supreme Court justice who oversaw the investigation into Bolsonaro, Alexandre de Moraes, has faced sanctions from the US government for allegedly censoring right-wing voices.<\/p>\n