U.S. officials announced on Wednesday that they will impose sanctions on Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, accusing him of approving “arbitrary pre-trial detentions” and stifling “freedom of expression.”
Justice Moraes is leading an investigation into claims that Brazil’s former right wing President Jair Bolsonaro and his allies tried to orchestrate a coup following his defeat in the 2022 election.
Bolsonaro has denied the charges and has referred to Judge Moraes as a “dictator.”
Just hours after unveiling the sanctions, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing a 50% tariff on Brazilian imports.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva responded by saying Brazil remains open to trade talks with the U.S., but condemned the targeting of de Moraes as an “unacceptable” intrusion into Brazil’s legal system.
In a post on X, Lula highlighted that Brazil has long faced “a significant trade deficit in goods and services with the United States” and warned that the latest moves threaten “national sovereignty and the historical relationship between the two countries.”
Trump had earlier signaled the tariff hike in a letter addressed to Lula and posted on social media earlier this month.
