Brazil braces for new US sanctions after Bolsonaro’s conviction angers Trump administration

SAO PAULO (AP) – Brazil braced Friday for possible new U.S. sanctions linked to former President Jair Bolsonaro ‘s conviction on coup charges, after the administration of President Donald Trump warned it would respond “accordingly.”

Trump said he was “very unhappy” with the conviction, and U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on his X account that the U.S. government would “respond accordingly to this witch hunt.”

Brazil’s Foreign Ministry called Rubio’s comments an inappropriate threat that would not intimidate the government, adding that the country’s judiciary is independent and that Bolsonaro was granted due process.

“Threats like the one made today by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a statement that attacks Brazilian authority and ignores the facts and compelling evidence in the case files, will not intimidate our democracy,” Brazil’s foreign office said on X.

Sen. Rogério Carvalho, the government leader in the Senate, told The Associated Press in a phone interview Friday that the administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has been expecting retaliation from the United States, and would move to cushion any blow to Brazilian businesses.

“The government already has a plan to support affected companies and mitigate losses from the tariffs. Brazil is aggressively seeking new markets to make up for a potential drop in exports to the United States,” he said.

Bolsonaro was convicted Thursday by a Supreme Court panel of an attempted coup aimed at keeping him in power following his October 2022 election defeat to Lula.

Prosecutors cited Bolsonaro’s history of casting doubt on the country’s voting system, evidence that he discussed with top aides a possible emergency decree to suspend the election result and a riot in the capital after Lula was inaugurated.

Bolsonaro’s defense called the case invalid, arguing that even if evidence suggested Bolsonaro discussed such a decree, he never issued one and instead ordered a transition to his elected successor.

Trump has called the trial a witchhunt, and in July announced a 50% tariff on Brazilian imported goods and explicitly linked the import tax to Bolsonaro’s fate.

Just weeks later, the U.S. Treasury Department placed sanctions on Supreme Court JusticeAlexandre de Moraes, who oversaw the case and is seen by Bolsonaro as a personal foe. Sanctions under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act typically are used against figures accused of human rights abuses.

Lula, in an interview Thursday with local TV Band, said any Trump threat to sanction Brazil was an arrogant denial of Brazil’s right to judge its own crimes. “A president of one country cannot interfere in the sovereign decisions of another country. If he chooses to take further action, that’s his problem. We will respond as measures are taken,” Lula said.

Christopher Garman of Eurasia Group told the AP that the White House is likely to extend Magnitsky sanctions to the other justices who convicted Bolsonaro – and possibly their families.

“We are also keeping an eye on more tariffs, given Brazil’s purchase of Russian diesel. But this is not something immediate,” Garman said.

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