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US revokes visa of Brazil justice minister in Bolsonaro row / Photo: © AFP
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US revokes visa of Brazil justice minister in Bolsonaro row
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said on Tuesday that the United States had revoked the visa of Justice Minister Ricardo Lewandowski, a move he termed "irresponsible."
The US State Department had yet to confirm the latest in a series of punitive measures taken by Washington against Brazil for putting former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro on trial for alleged coup plotting.
"I wanted to express my solidarity and the government's solidarity with my colleague Lewandowski faced with the irresponsible gesture of the United States in revoking his visa," Lula told a ministerial meeting in Brasilia.
President Donald Trump has also imposed crippling 50-percent tariffs on dozens of Brazilian imports and sanctioned the judge overseeing Bolsonaro's trial, which he has called a "witch hunt."
Judge Alexandre de Moraes had his US visa revoked, as did several other Supreme Court justices, according to Brazil, following intense lobbying by Bolsonaro's US-based son, Eduardo Bolsonaro.
Jair Bolsonaro, dubbed the "Trump of the Tropics" during his 2019-2022 presidency, risks up to 40 years in prison if convicted of plotting to cling to power after losing October 2022 elections to the leftist Lula.
The 70-year-old denies the charges and claims his trial is an attempt by the Brazilian judiciary, in league with Lula's government, to prevent him making a comeback in 2026 elections.
He is under house arrest while awaiting the verdict, which the Supreme Court is expected to deliver early next month.
On Monday, prosecutors called for increased police surveillance of his residence in the run-up to the verdict, arguing he is a flight risk.
Last week, it emerged that he had planned to seek asylum from Argentina's right-wing President Javier Milei last year, shortly after the coup plot probe was launched.
In his draft asylum request, he claimed he was the victim of political persecution.
C.Williams--SFF
