State Department revokes visa for Brazil’s ambassador to U.S.

The State Department has revoked the visa of Brazil’s ambassador to the United States, according to a senior department official, marking the latest escalation in a growing diplomatic dispute between Washington and Brasília.

The official said the visa for Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti would be reinstated immediately if Brazil grants diplomatic approval, known as agrément, for President Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to Brazil, Daniel Perez. Brazil has withheld approval for Perez, who currently serves as Republican speaker of the Florida House of Representatives and is a close ally of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, preventing him from taking up the post.

“They have not only delayed, but put out signals that they will probably delay until after their election there, which is a long time coming,” the official said, adding that the dispute comes “in the context of several other diplomatic disputes that have developed over the last year or so.” 

The official said Washington believes “the government of Brazil owes us a prompt and positive answer” on the ambassadorial request.

The Brazilian government condemned the State Department’s move in a statement, saying the “justifications offered for the decision are false.” Brazil also said the U.S. announced its pick for ambassador before submitting a request to Brazil, arguing “the name of a proposed ambassador should be made public only after consent has been granted.”

“Today’s decision is not an isolated incident. 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,” Brazil’s statement read.

The visa dispute follows Brazil’s earlier decision in July to deny visas to two U.S. State Department officials, accusing them of attempting to interfere in the country’s upcoming October elections by questioning the integrity of its voting system. The State Department has rejected those allegations as baseless, saying the planned visit by officials from the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor was part of a routine engagement.

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is up for reelection, going against Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. The former president, an ally of Mr. Trump, is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence for his role in an attempted coup following his loss in the 2022 election.

The ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Brazil also include the levying of 25% tariffs on imports from Brazil last month, with Washington citing what it called unfair trade practices, including its rules regulating U.S. tech platforms.

Lula condemned the tariffs, denying “the alleged unfair trade practices” and adding, “There is no justification for unilateral measures against our country. According to statistics from the U.S. government itself, the United States has accumulated a surplus of $424.5 billion in goods and services with Brazil over the past 15 years.”  

Lula, prior to the tariffs going into effect, suggested the decision was political in nature and blamed the younger Bolsonaro, who had recently visited Washington.

Shortly after that May visit, the Trump administration moved to classify two Brazilian drug trafficking groups, Comando Vermelho and Primeiro Comando da Capital, as foreign terrorist organizations. Lula also harshly criticized that move, saying at a public event, “We will not accept being treated like children, we will not accept being treated as if we were a banana republic,” according to Reuters, accusing Rubio of saying “that our criminals are terrorists and that Americans can intervene.”