JANEIRO RIOOn Wednesday, the U.S. Treasury Department declared penalties against Justice Alexandre de Moraes of the Brazilian Supreme Court for allegedly suppressing free speech and the pending trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro.
De Moraes is in charge of the criminal case against Bolsonaro, who is charged with orchestrating a scheme to maintain his position of authority in spite of losing the 2022 election to current President Luiz Incio Lula da Silva.
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U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent stated in a statement that De Moraes is to blame for a campaign of censorship, arbitrary detentions that violate human rights, and politicized trials, including those against former President Jair Bolsonaro.
The department’s power to impose the sanctions was based on the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which targets corrupt officials and those who violate human rights.
Any assets or property de Moraes may own in the United States must be frozen, according to the ruling.
A request for comment was not immediately answered by the Presidential Palace or Brazil’s Supreme Court.
The announcement on Wednesday comes after the U.S. State Department announced on July 18 that Brazilian court officials, including de Moraes, would not be able to get visas.
Additionally, it follows the announcement on July 9 by U.S. President Donald Trump of a 50% duty on commodities imported from Brazil. Trump specifically connected the import tax to what he described as the ongoing witch hunt prosecution of Bolsonaro in Brazil in a letter announcing the tariff.
Bolsonaro is accused of attempting to reverse the outcome of his 2022 defeat to Lula, and Trump seems to sympathize with him. In a similar vein, Trump was charged in 2023 with attempting to rescind the outcome of the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
Bolsonaro was considered a flight risk and has been compelled to wear an ankle monitor.
Eduardo, Bolsonaro’s son, praised the U.S. Treasury Department’s decision on X, describing it as a historic turning point and a reminder that abuses of power now have worldwide repercussions.
After moving to the United States in March, Eduardo Bolsonaror is currently being investigated for allegedly assisting American authorities in enforcing penalties against Brazilian politicians.
Trump also signed an executive order on Wednesday to enact the 50% duty that was announced earlier this month. According to a statement from the White House, the decision was in response to recent Brazilian policies, practices, and actions that pose an uncommon and extraordinary threat to American foreign policy, national security, and the economy.
That was a change in the tariff’s justification. An prior executive order based on the idea that trade imbalances pose a threat to the U.S. economy served as the legal foundation for the July 9 threat. However, the U.S. Census Bureau reports that the U.S. had a $6.8 billion trade surplus with Brazil last year.
Trump said in his order on Wednesday that Brazil’s actions and the criminal prosecution of former President Jair Bolsona constitute an economic emergency in accordance with a law from 1977.
Lula claimed that Trump was not elected to be the world’s emperor following the announcement of the tariff earlier this month. He has spoken up for the independence of Brazil’s court and its sovereignty.
The tariffs were originally scheduled to take effect on August 1st, but Wednesday’s directive stated that they would take effect seven days after it was signed.
According to Flavia Loss, a professor of international relations at Sao Paulo’s Foundation School of Sociology and Politics, the tariffs order and the sanctions against Moraes signaled a rise in hostilities between the United States and Brazil.
According to Loss, “We are talking about using commercial tools to coerce what happens in Brazil, not a typical commercial dispute between countries.”
The sanctions are a blatant breach of judicial independence, which is a cornerstone of democracy, according to the nonprofit Human Rights Watch.
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