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The Guardian
08-08-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Top US diplomat in Brazil summoned to foreign ministry over Bolsonaro trial comments
Brazil's foreign ministry has summoned the US chargé d'affaires after the embassy posted comments about the trial of former president Jair Bolsonaro, as relations between the two countries continue to deteriorate. On Thursday, the embassy published a social media post in Portuguese criticising supreme court justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is overseeing the cases against Bolsonaro, who is on trial over an alleged coup attempt. The post read: 'Minister Moraes is the chief architect of the censorship and persecution of Bolsonaro and his supporters. His flagrant human rights violations have led to sanctions under the Magnitsky Act, imposed by President Trump. 'Moraes's allies in the judiciary and elsewhere are hereby warned not to support or facilitate his actions. We are monitoring the situation closely.' The message was a translated repost of a statement by Darren Beattie, the US's senior official for public diplomacy. The Brazilian government viewed the message as a direct threat to the other supreme court justices presiding over Bolsonaro's trials and – given that Trump has yet to appoint an ambassador to Brazil – summoned the acting head of mission, chargé d'affaires Gabriel Escobar. Sign up to This Week in Trumpland A deep dive into the policies, controversies and oddities surrounding the Trump administration after newsletter promotion It was the third time Escobar had been summoned since Donald Trump began publicly defending Bolsonaro, even citing the former Brazilian president's prosecution over the 2022 coup attempt as one of the justifications for the steep tariffs imposed on Brazilian goods. According to a source at the ministry, the interim secretary for Europe and North America, Flavio Goldman, expressed to Escobar the Brazilian government's 'deep indignation' over the tone and content of recent posts from both the embassy and the US state department, which Brasília viewed as 'interference in domestic affairs and unacceptable threats against Brazilian authorities'. The US embassy did not comment on the meeting. Before Friday's summons, Escobar had attended a meeting on Thursday with Brazil's vice-president, Geraldo Alckmin, who has been leading the Lula administration's thus far unsuccessful efforts to reverse the tariffs. Brazil says it has been seeking to open negotiations with the US since April, but has received no response. This week, Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, told Reuters: 'The day my intuition says Trump is ready to talk, I won't hesitate to call him. But today my intuition says he doesn't want to talk. And I won't humiliate myself.'
France 24
09-07-2025
- Politics
- France 24
Brazil summons US envoy over criticism of Bolsonaro trial
The foreign ministry in Brasilia told AFP that envoy Gabriel Escobar will be called to explain an embassy statement describing Bolsonaro as a victim of "political persecution" -- echoing Trump's claims of a "witch hunt" against the 70-year-old Brazilian firebrand. Trump on Monday urged Brazilian authorities to "LEAVE BOLSONARO ALONE," in a post on social media. "They have done nothing but come after him, day after day, night after night, month after month, year after year!" the US president wrote. Leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who narrowly beat Bolsonaro in a divisive election in 2022, has hit back at Trump's "interference," insisting that "no one is above the law." Bolsonaro denies he was involved in an attempt to wrest power back from Lula in an alleged coup plot prosecutors say failed only for a lack of military backing. After the plot fizzled, rioting supporters known as "Bolsonaristas" raided government buildings in 2023 as they urged the military to oust Lula. Bolsonaro was abroad at the time. No 'emperor' The case against Bolsonaro carries echoes of Trump's prosecution over the January 6, 2021 attacks by his supporters, who overran the US Congress to try and reverse his election loss. Trump pleaded not guilty, and the case was abandoned when he was reelected president. The cases have drawn the Trump and Bolsonaro families together, with the Brazilian ex-leader's sons lobbying for US sanctions against a Supreme Court judge sitting on the ex-president's trial. In his post Monday, Trump suggested Bolsonaro was the favorite in presidential elections next year, despite being banned from running for spreading disinformation about Brazil's voting system. Bolsonaro senior thanked Trump for his defense of "peace, justice and liberty" in a social media post. On Wednesday, the US embassy in Brasilia issued a statement to "reinforce" Trump's support for Bolsonaro. "Jair Bolsonaro and his family have been strong partners of the United States," read the note. "The political persecution against him, his family, and his followers is shameful and disrespects Brazil's democratic traditions." The showdown between the two countries extended to the economic sphere this week, when members of the BRICS grouping, meeting in Brazil under host Lula, criticized Trump's imposition of import tariffs and his bombing of Iran. This drew the US president's ire and a threat of 10 percent additional tariffs on each BRICS-aligned country. © 2025 AFP
Yahoo
28-01-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US envoy summoned by Brazil over deportations as talks aim to hash out terms
BRASILIA (Reuters) -Brazil's foreign ministry said it summoned a senior U.S. diplomat on Monday to discuss the deportation of Brazilian migrants, part of a push to seek mutually acceptable terms for the controversial repatriations. The summons comes a day after a major flare up over migrant repatriations from the U.S. to Colombia. Gabriel Escobar, currently the highest-ranking U.S. envoy in Brasilia, met officials from Brazil's foreign ministry on Monday, as the United States ramps up deportations under President Donald Trump, including on military flights transporting shackled migrants. On Saturday, Brazil's government said it would seek explanations from U.S. authorities over what it called "degrading treatment" of Brazilians on a deportation flight last Friday. Brazilian deportees arrived in Brazil in handcuffs. They described to local media mistreatment during the flight, including physical abuse and refusals to allow bathroom breaks. The U.S. Department of State did not immediately respond to a request for comment. According to Brazil's federal police, the flight was the second this year from the United States carrying undocumented migrants returned to Brazil and the first since Trump's took office last week. A Brazilian diplomatic source told Reuters that the South American country's government called for the diplomatic meeting to address issues related to the flight, adding that it intends to pursue talks with the Trump's Administration to avoid further problems. Friday's flight carried 88 Brazilians as well as 16 U.S. security agents, and was originally scheduled to arrive in the city of Belo Horizonte in southeastern Minas Gerais state. But it made an unscheduled stop in Manaus, the capital of Amazonas state, due to technical problems, where Brazilian officials ordered the removal of the handcuffs, according to the government. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also designated a Brazilian Air Force plane to complete the migrants' journey. On Sunday, Trump and Colombian President Gustavo Petro pulled back from the brink of a trade war after the White House said the South American nation agreed to accept military aircraft transporting deported migrants. The Brazilian diplomatic source added that the Brazilian government does not intend to reject the arrivals of the U.S. deportation flights.
Reuters
27-01-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
US official summoned by Brazil officials over deportation of Brazilian migrants
BRASILIA, Jan 27 (Reuters) - Brazil's foreign ministry summoned a senior U.S. diplomat on Monday to discuss the deportation of Brazilian migrants, the ministry said, a day after a major flare up over migrant repatriations to neighboring Colombia. Gabriel Escobar, the highest-ranking U.S. envoy in Brasilia, met with representatives of Brazil's foreign ministry on Monday, as the United States ramps up deportations, including on military flights transporting shackled migrants. On Saturday, Brazil's government said it would seek explanations from U.S. officials over what it called "degrading treatment" of Brazilians on a deportation flight last Friday. Brazilian deportees arrived in Brazil in handcuffs, while some also reported mistreatment during the flight, according to local media reports. Escobar is the top U.S. official at the country's embassy in Brazil since former Ambassador Elizabeth Frawley left the post earlier this month. On Sunday, the U.S. and Colombia pulled back from the brink of a trade war after the White House said the South American nation had agreed to accept military aircraft carrying deported migrants.
Bloomberg
27-01-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Brazil Summons US Representative to Explain Migrant Treatment
Politics Brazil's foreign ministry has summoned the highest representative for the US government in Brasilia to explain the treatment given to undocumented Brazilian migrants who were deported back to the Latin American country during the weekend, according to two people familiar with the matter. US Charge d'Affaires Gabriel Escobar, who will represent the US until President Donald Trump appoints a new ambassador to Brazil, was received by Secretary for Consular Affairs Marcia Loureiro in the nation's capital, one of the people said, requesting anonymity because information about the meeting isn't public.
