Latest news with #GlobalMagnitskyAct
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Lula vows to defend Brazil's Supreme Court as US threatens judge
By Manuela Andreoni SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva vowed on Tuesday to defend his country's Supreme Court against attacks from the United States, in a sharp rebuke of potential sanctions from Washington against one of the top court's justices. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told U.S. lawmakers last month that President Donald Trump could slap economic sanctions on the judge overseeing the trial of Brazil's ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally accused of plotting a coup. "It is unacceptable for the president of any country in the world to comment on the decision of the Supreme Court of another country," Lula told reporters, adding that the United States needs to understand the importance of "respecting the integrity of institutions in other countries." Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has drawn fierce criticism from the Brazilian right while leading the court's aggressive curbing of what he has called threats to Brazil's democracy, both online and in an alleged coup plot. He started by ordering social media companies to take down posts from Bolsonaro supporters that he considered threats to democratic institutions, even suspending Elon Musk's social media platform X in Brazil until it caved to his orders. Musk and other right-wing platforms have accused Moraes of censorship. The judge also ordered the arrest of a conservative lawmaker who posted a video attacking the Supreme Court and oversaw a case against Bolsonaro supporters who vandalized government buildings after the former president lost the election. Moraes is now overseeing a case in which Bolsonaro is accused of leading an attempt to overthrow Brazil's democracy to reverse his loss in the 2022 presidential elections. He presided over the electoral court decision barring Bolsonaro from running for public office until 2030 due to behavior in that campaign. Several of those cases have involved criticism, threats and even an alleged assassination attempt targeting Moraes himself, but the Supreme Court has backed the judge's refusal to recuse himself, drawing further complaints from his critics. The setbacks for Bolsonaro's far-right movement led his son, lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, to take a leave from Brazil's Congress this year and move to the United States, where he vowed to lead a campaign against Moraes. Rubio's comments in Congress about Moraes were prompted by questions by Florida House Representative Cory Mills, with whom Eduardo Bolsonaro said he had met days earlier. Mills asked Rubio if he was considering sanctions against Moraes under the Global Magnitsky Act, which allows the U.S. president to impose economic sanctions against foreigners with a record of corruption or human rights abuses. "There is a great possibility that will happen," Rubio said. Eduardo Bolsonaro's role in advocating retribution against Moraes prompted the judge to open an investigation against the lawmaker, after prosecutors alleged judicial interference. Lula, in remarks to reporters on Tuesday, compared Eduardo Bolsonaro's efforts to "terrorist practices," adding that the lawmaker had left Congress to "try to lick Trump's boots."
The Star
7 days ago
- Business
- The Star
Lula vows to defend Brazil's Supreme Court as US threatens judge
FILE PHOTO: Brazil's Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes attends a session of the Supreme Court in Brasilia, Brazil, November 27, 2024. REUTERS/Adriano Machado/File Photo SAO PAULO (Reuters) -Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva vowed on Tuesday to defend his country's Supreme Court against attacks from the United States, in a sharp rebuke of potential sanctions from Washington against one of the top court's justices. Secretary of State Marco Rubio told U.S. lawmakers last month that President Donald Trump could slap economic sanctions on the judge overseeing the trial of Brazil's ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally accused of plotting a coup. "It is unacceptable for the president of any country in the world to comment on the decision of the Supreme Court of another country," Lula told reporters, adding that the United States needs to understand the importance of "respecting the integrity of institutions in other countries." Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has drawn fierce criticism from the Brazilian right while leading the court's aggressive curbing of what he has called threats to Brazil's democracy, both online and in an alleged coup plot. He started by ordering social media companies to take down posts from Bolsonaro supporters thathe considered threats to democratic institutions, even suspending Elon Musk's social media platform X in Brazil until it caved to his orders. Musk and other right-wing platforms have accused Moraes of censorship. The judge also ordered the arrest of a conservative lawmaker who posted a video attacking the Supreme Court and oversaw a case against Bolsonaro supporters who vandalized government buildings after the former president lost the election. Moraes is now overseeing a case in which Bolsonaro is accused of leading an attempt to overthrow Brazil's democracy to reverse his loss in the 2022 presidential elections. He presided over the electoral court decision barring Bolsonaro from running for public office until 2030 due to behavior in that campaign. Several of those cases have involved criticism, threats and even an alleged assassination attempt targeting Moraes himself, but the Supreme Court has backed the judge's refusal to recuse himself, drawing further complaints from his critics. The setbacks for Bolsonaro's far-right movement led his son, lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, to take a leave from Brazil's Congress this year and move to the United States, where he vowed to lead a campaign against Moraes. Rubio's comments in Congress about Moraes were prompted by questions by Florida House Representative Cory Mills, with whom Eduardo Bolsonaro said he had met days earlier. Mills asked Rubio if he was considering sanctions against Moraes under the Global Magnitsky Act, which allows the U.S. president to impose economic sanctions against foreigners with a record of corruption or human rights abuses. "There is a great possibility that will happen," Rubio said. Eduardo Bolsonaro's role in advocating retribution against Moraes prompted the judge to open an investigation against the lawmaker, after prosecutors alleged judicial interference. Lula, in remarks to reporters on Tuesday, compared Eduardo Bolsonaro's efforts to "terrorist practices," adding that the lawmaker had left Congress to "try to lick Trump's boots." (Reporting by Manuela Andreoni; Additional reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu and Ricardo Brito; Editing by Brad Haynes and Nia Williams)
Yahoo
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Lobbyists Urge US to Sanction Errant South African Officials
(Bloomberg) -- South African lobby groups who say they represent the interests of White Afrikaners urged the Trump administration to censure senior members of the nation's biggest political party implicated in a judicial probe into state graft. The Trump Administration Takes Aim at Transportation Research Shelters Await Billions in Federal Money for Homelessness Providers NYC's Congestion Pricing Pulls In $48.6 Million in First Month New York's Congestion Pricing Plan Faces Another Legal Showdown NYC to Shut Migrant Center in Former Hotel as Crisis Eases Leaders from AfriForum and Solidarity met senior US officials in Washington this week and presented them with the names of African National Congress members who they said should be sanctioned under the Global Magnitsky Act. The law enables the US to target foreign officials who are party to corruption and human-rights violations. A list of people implicated by the Zondo commission who 'got off scot-free' was presented to the US government, and a call was made to take action against them, AfriForum Chief Executive Officer Kallie Kriel said in a video clip posted on social media platform X. A commission headed by Raymond Zondo, South Africa's recently retired chief justice, spent four years investigating graft during Jacob Zuma's tenure as president, and heard a plethora of testimony of how state departments and governments were systematically plundered. A number of senior politicians, including serving members of President Cyril Ramaphosa's cabinet, were implicated in the looting spree, which the government estimates cost taxpayers more than 500 billion rand ($27 billion). Hardly any of them have been prosecuted since Zondo's panel concluded its work in 2021. Ramaphosa has said those implicated in wrongdoing are being investigated and action will be taken if warranted. The National Prosecuting Authority has voiced similar sentiments, while acknowledging public frustration at how long the process is taking. The lobby groups also delivered a memorandum to the US officials stating that Afrikaners are being culturally and educationally discriminated against, and that American and South African foreign policy aren't aligned. They said they don't want South Africa to lose its preferential access to US markets because that would impact negatively on commercial farmers. Trump recently halted most aid to South Africa after accusing the government of confiscating land, and offered refugee status to Afrikaner farmers. The nation's authorities haven't confiscated any private land since apartheid ended in 1994. Trump's SALT Tax Promise Hinges on an Obscure Loophole Warner Bros. Movie Heads Are Burning Cash, and Their Boss Is Losing Patience Walmart Wants to Be Something for Everyone in a Divided America China Learned to Embrace What the US Forgot: The Virtues of Creative Destruction Meet Seven of America's Top Personal Finance Influencers ©2025 Bloomberg L.P.
Bloomberg
27-02-2025
- Politics
- Bloomberg
Lobbyists Urge US to Sanction Errant South African Officials
South African lobby groups who say they represent the interests of White Afrikaners urged the Trump administration to censure senior members of the nation's biggest political party implicated in a judicial probe into state graft. Leaders from AfriForum and Solidarity met senior US officials in Washington this week and presented them with the names of African National Congress members who they said should be sanctioned under the Global Magnitsky Act. The law enables the US to target foreign officials who are party to corruption and human-rights violations.
