Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva Lula strongly denounced on Saturday the recent US sanctions against Brazilian judicial officials involved in the investigation against former President Jair Bolsonaro. Describing these measures as "arbitrary" and "baseless," he said they constituted unacceptable interference in the functioning of the Brazilian justice system and a violation of the principles of sovereignty between nations.
This escalation of diplomatic tensions comes after the Trump administration decided to revoke the visas of several Brazilian Supreme Court justices, including Alexandre de Moraes—a central figure in the Bolsonaro trial—as well as their relatives. These restrictions come in response to judicial measures taken in Brazil, including search warrants and travel bans targeting the far-right former president, who is accused of attempting to orchestrate a coup after his defeat in the 2022 presidential election.
In an official statement, Lula reaffirmed his confidence in Brazilian institutions, stressing that "no form of intimidation or threat, from anyone, will compromise the most important mission of Brazil's powers and institutions, which is to defend and permanently uphold the democratic rule of law." The Brazilian president insisted that the judiciary must be able to operate freely, without external pressure.
Attorney General Jorge Messias, Lula's right-hand man in the judiciary, condemned what he called "inappropriate maneuvers" and "sordid conspiracies" aimed at undermining the independence of the judiciary. He revealed that Attorney General Paulo Gonet was also among the officials sanctioned by Washington, and defended the right of Brazilian institutions to freely pursue ongoing investigations.
On Friday, Minister of Institutional Relations Gleisi Hoffmann clarified that eight of the eleven judges on Brazil's Supreme Court had been targeted by the US restrictions, including Luis Roberto Barroso, Dias Toffoli, Cristiano Zanin, Flavio Dino, Carmen Lucia, Edson Fachin, and Gilmar Mendes. This decision is seen in Brasilia as a direct affront to the Brazilian judiciary.
The case comes amid an already tense political climate between Lula's Brazil and Trump's United States, where ideological divisions are now compounded by diplomatic confrontations. As Bolsonaro, a staunch Trump ally, sees his trial take on national proportions, his judicial fate becomes a new point of friction in intercontinental relations.
