A U.S. Secretary of State declared on Thursday that the United States would react following former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro’s conviction for plotting a coup to stay in power after his 2022 election defeat. However, the Secretary provided no specific details on the nature of this U.S. response.
Senator Rubio posted on X, asserting that “political persecutions” by Alexandre de Moraes, whom he characterized as a “sanctioned human rights abuser,” are ongoing. He contended that de Moraes and other Brazilian Supreme Court justices had “unjustly ruled to imprison” former President Jair Bolsonaro.
He further stated that the U.S. intended to “respond accordingly to this witch hunt.”
The ministry contended that Rubio’s remarks constituted a threat that “attacks Brazilian authority and ignores the facts and the compelling evidence in the records.”
The ministry affirmed that Brazilian democracy would not be intimidated by the U.S. government.
Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison when he was convicted by the country’s Supreme Court on Thursday on charges of plotting a coup to stop President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from taking office in January 2023.
The former Brazilian president had been a close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump throughout his first administration.
Trump informed reporters, “Well, I watched that trial. I know him pretty well. I thought he was a good president of Brazil, and it’s very surprising that could happen very much like they tried to do with me, but they didn’t get away with it at all.” He referenced the recent state and federal legal proceedings against himself, including his New York conviction.
He added, “But I can always say this: I knew him as president of Brazil. He was a good man.”
Trump has previously criticized Brazil’s judicial system and issued tariff threats against the country due to its proceedings against Bolsonaro.
In July, Trump had imposed 50% tariffs on most Brazilian goods, citing a “witch hunt” against Bolsonaro. He subsequently exempted certain Brazilian exports, such as passenger vehicles and various parts and components for civil aircraft.
According to Rubio, Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, his unspecified allies on the court, and his immediate family members are slated to face visa revocations. Rubio condemned the actions as a “political witch hunt” targeting the former president.
During the same month, Rubio had announced visa revocations for Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversaw Bolsonaro’s criminal case, and his unnamed allies on the court. This decision came after the court issued search warrants and restraining orders against Bolsonaro.
The U.S. Treasury Department had also imposed sanctions on the judge, citing allegations of his authorization of arbitrary pre-trial detentions and suppression of free expression.
Eduardo Bolsonaro, son of the former president and a Brazilian Congressman, stated his expectation of further U.S. sanctions against Brazilian justices in the wake of his father’s conviction.
He told Reuters on Thursday, “We are going to have a firm response with actions from the U.S. government against this dictatorship that is being installed in Brazil.”
He cautioned that justices who voted to convict the former president might face sanctions under the Magnitsky Act, a measure previously applied by the Trump administration against de Moraes.
He remarked, “If these Supreme Court justices keep following Moraes, they also run the risk of facing the same sanction.”
Reuters contributed to this report.