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WASHINGTON — <\/span>The Trump administration has revoked the visa of Brazil\u2019s ambassador to the United States in retaliation for Brazil\u2019s denial of visas<\/a> last month for two American diplomats who sought to visit ahead of upcoming elections<\/a> as well as what it said was Brazil’s stalling on approving President Donald Trump\u2019s nominee to be ambassador in Brasilia.<\/p>\n The State Department said the decision was a reciprocal response to Brazil\u2019s actions, and officials said the step had been delayed several times to give Brazilian President Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva room to back down, something he did not do. Officials said, however, that it could be quickly reversed if Brazil takes appropriate action and accepts Trump\u2019s ambassadorial choice.<\/p>\n Brazil’s government in a statement responded by accusing the United States of not following international law in nominating its ambassador to Brazil. It said the U.S. government’s decision to revoke the Brazilian ambassador’s visa was politically driven with the aim of influencing Brazil’s election in October. <\/p>\n Trump has had a fractious relationship for some time with Lula’s administration, which has opposed him on numerous policies, particularly in the Western Hemisphere regarding Venezuela and Cuba. Their relationship also has been strained by Trump\u2019s fondness for Lula\u2019s first term successor and then predecessor, Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently under house arrest, and his son Fl\u00e1vio, who is Lula\u2019s main opponent in the election.<\/p>\n Lula has spared Trump himself from criticism and claims they liked each other<\/a> when they first met at the United Nations Assembly General in September of last year. The Brazilian leader has blamed Secretary of State Marco Rubio for some of the actions against his country. <\/p>\n Despite the revocation of her visa, Brazil\u2019s ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti is not being expelled from the United States, said one State Department official, who like several others spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive diplomatic matter. The ambassador was previously a senior United Nations official.<\/p>\n She could be allowed to resume her official duties if the Brazilian government accepts Trump\u2019s choice of former Florida House speaker Danny Perez to be U.S. ambassador to Brazil. Perez was nominated to the post in June and the official said Brazil had signaled it would not act on the appointment until after the first round of Brazil’s election on Oct. 4.<\/p>\n Perez’ nomination was submitted to the Senate on June 1. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted on July 22 to send his nomination to the full Senate, where a vote was expected by the end of this week.<\/p>\n Brazil’s government said the U.S. should have asked for consent to send Perez in private, as established by the Vienna Convention on diplomatic relations, before the nomination was made public. It added the U.S. government’s request to send Perez is still \u201cunder analysis.\u201d<\/p>\n Brazil denied visas last month<\/a> for Riley Barnes, the assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor, and one of his top aides after reports emerged that the pair were going to criticize Lula or the election process.<\/p>\n The State Department denied the allegations and said the two had planned to visit Brasilia on July 27-30 to meet government officials, religious leaders and others about \u201celection integrity,\u201d religious freedom and freedom of expression.<\/p>\n It said the visit was routine and that \u201cany insinuation of a \u2018ploy\u2019 to undermine a democratic nation\u2019s election is a baseless lie.\u201d<\/p>\n The Brazilian government on Tuesday stood by its assessment, saying the two Americans “were planning to visit the country to cast doubts about the integrity of the Brazilian electoral system, in an unacceptable attempt to interfere in the national political process.\u201d<\/p>\n Last week, a top Brazilian diplomat told journalists the government was expecting a response from Rubio. The diplomat was not authorized to discuss the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity.<\/p>\n The same Brazilian diplomat told the AP on Tuesday, also under condition of anonymity, that the Lula administration is trying to figure out why the U.S. government is rushing to have an ambassador in Brasilia only months before October’s election. The post in the Brazilian capital has been vacant since Trump returned to the White House in January 2025.<\/p>\n Lula, who is 80 and seeking his fourth term as Brazil’s president, will face Sen. Fl\u00e1vio Bolsonaro<\/a>, whose father once served as Brazil’s president and whose family has many ties with the Trump administration. <\/p>\n Sen. Bolsonaro and his brother, Eduardo, visited U.S. officials in Washington, including Trump, in late May. Shortly afterward, the Trump administration classified Brazil\u2019s biggest drug-trafficking groups \u2014 First Command Capital and Red Command<\/a> \u2014 as foreign terrorist organizations, a move Lula opposes.<\/p>\n The Trump administration also imposed an up to 37.5% tariff hike<\/a> on thousands of Brazilian exports, which came into force Friday. The U.S. government claims the South American nation has unfair competition practices and fails to stop forced labor practices \u2014 both accusations rejected by the Lula administration as an attempt to sway the election to Sen. Bolsonaro.<\/a><\/p>\n Brazil’s government said Tuesday’s decision was not an isolated incident.<\/p>\n “It forms part of a deliberate escalation of hostile measures against Brazil, driven by ideological motives that are incompatible with a bilateral partnership that has always been guided by mutual respect,\u201d the government statement said. \u201cThe improper intent to interfere in the forthcoming presidential election is also evident.\u201d <\/p>\n Jair Bolsonaro has for years fed concerns <\/a> about the country\u2019s electronic voting system, without providing any evidence for his claims. He is now serving a 27-year prison sentence at home for an attempted coup. He has long insisted that the machines, used for a quarter-century, are prone to fraud.<\/p>\n Sen. Bolsonaro has recently repeated some of these claims, although he steered clear of those on Saturday when his Liberal Party confirmed him as a presidential candidate in Sao Paulo.<\/a><\/p>\n Brazil’s government said it \u201chas spared no effort to resolve these differences\u201d with the U.S government.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Savarese reported from Sao Paulo, Brazil.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n