By Simon Lewis and Humeyra Pamuk
WASHINGTON, Aug 4 (Reuters) – The United States has revoked the visa of the Brazilian ambassador in Washington after Brazil withheld formal approval for President Donald Trump’s nominee as U.S. ambassador and denied visas to two American diplomats, a senior State Department official said on Tuesday.
The move marks an escalation in the deepening rift between Trump and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, which has upended trade between the countries and emerged as a factor in Brazil’s October presidential contest.
Brazilian Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti’s visa will be restored if the situation is resolved, said the official, who briefed reporters on condition of anonymity.
“The action was that the visa of a senior diplomat here was revoked or canceled. That is not the same thing as kicking the person out of the country,” the official said.
“It means that they are here but without a visa, and would have their visa restored if the balance is restored by giving agrément to our chosen ambassadorial nominee,” the official added, referring to the diplomatic step of accepting an ambassador that is usually a formality.
Brazil has for weeks withheld formal approval of Daniel Perez, a Florida state representative and close ally of Secretary of State Marco Rubio whom Trump nominated as ambassador on June 1.
Brazil’s government rejected the U.S. decision in a statement on Tuesday, calling it based on “false” claims and arguing that its consideration of Perez was proceeding in line with international diplomatic norms, among them that Washington should have secured Brazil’s approval before announcing his nomination.
Reuters reported last week, citing sources, that some Trump officials had grown exasperated over Brasilia’s delay. One source said there could be punitive action if Brazil continued to withhold the approval needed for the next U.S. ambassador to take up his post.
Brazil also denied visas last month to two officials from the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. The government defended that decision on Tuesday, which it said was warranted because the officials’ planned visit sought to cast doubt on the electoral system, which it described as an “unacceptable attempt to interfere in the national political process”.
Recent polls have given Lula an edge in the presidential over Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, the eldest son of former president and ardent Trump ally Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a sentence under house arrest for plotting a 2022 coup.
“Basically we’ve had a situation in which our diplomats were being denied the ability to do routine common work between the two countries, and so you know under these circumstances, with the long delay and no promise of ending the impasse of the agrément, we’ve taken reciprocal action with respect to a Brazilian diplomat here to make the point that it can’t always be one-sided,” the official said.
A TENSE BACK-AND-FORTH
While the official did not rule out further actions, they said that Washington puts great importance on the relationship with Brasilia and respects the Brazilian people in whatever government they choose through free and fair elections.
“We want to be back in a situation where we have a normal, productive, transparent relationship with our colleagues,” the official said.
The tense back-and-forth has been colored by accusations from both countries of undue interference in each other’s domestic affairs.
Asked last week about Brazil’s delay in granting agrément for Perez, a State Department spokesperson said the agency rejected any effort by foreign countries to interfere in domestic processes.
While Trump officials have accused Lula’s government of censoring conservatives or tilting the scales against them in judicial proceedings, Brazil has pushed back on what it sees as U.S. efforts to influence Latin American politics in favor of conservatives.
Lula said last week that Brazil denied visas for two American diplomats who were coming “to meddle in Brazil’s elections.”
Trump has vocally weighed in on recent political contests across Latin America, including elections in Colombia, Chile and Honduras. National sovereignty has become a rallying cry for Lula, as he runs for a fourth non-consecutive term in October.
When Washington imposed a 25% tariff last month on several Brazilian products, citing what it described as unfair trade practices, Lula quickly accused the Bolsonaro family of helping engineer the tariffs for electoral gain, which they deny.
(Reporting by Simon Lewis, Humeyra Pamuk; additional reporting by Kanishka Singh, Brendan O’Boyle and Maria Carolina Marcello; Editing by Brad Haynes, Lisa Shumaker, Daniel Wallis and Raju Gopalakrishnan)
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