Rio de Janeiro, August 5: The Brazilian government has expressed strong discontent over the United States’ decision to revoke the visa of Brazil’s ambassador. Brazil labeled the U.S. State Department’s action as unjust and unfounded.
The issue revolves around the visa of Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti, Brazil’s ambassador in Washington. The U.S. government took this step in response to Brazil’s refusal to grant visas to two American officials and delays in the appointment of the new U.S. ambassador during the Trump administration.
The State Department stated that the two American officials were seeking to investigate Brazil’s electoral system. Brazil deemed this an unacceptable interference in its internal affairs.
Regarding the appointment of the new U.S. ambassador, Brazil clarified that while the name of Daniel Perez was publicly announced by the U.S., the formal request for approval was sent later. Brazil argued that this violates Article 4 of the Vienna Convention.
The statement read, “The Vienna Convention does not specify how many days approval should take. The U.S. proposal is still under our review.”
Brazil also reminded that the U.S. has already imposed unilateral sanctions on judges and senior officials of Brazil’s Supreme Court, with their American visas revoked due to allegations of political persecution.
A senior official from the U.S. State Department informed the media that the ambassador’s visa will only be restored once the situation is resolved.
In early June, U.S. President Donald Trump nominated Daniel Perez as the next ambassador to Brazil. However, the U.S. Senate has yet to confirm his appointment, and he cannot assume office without Brazil’s approval.
Reports indicate that when the visa revocation notice was issued, Ambassador Viotti was in Brazil. The Brazilian Foreign Ministry confirmed this to local channel GloboNews.
In recent weeks, the U.S. has been imposing new visa restrictions on Brazilian officials and criticizing decisions made in major cases by the Supreme Court, escalating diplomatic tensions between the two nations.
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