BRASILIA/WASHINGTON: The United States removed sanctions against the Brazilian Supreme Court judge accused of overseeing a criminal case against an ally of President Donald Trump, the Treasury Department said on Friday.
The reversal in less than five months, which came after the United States began reducing high tariffs on Brazilian goods, showed how quickly Trump has warmed to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and left behind an aggressive defense of his right-wing predecessor.
The United States had sanctioned Judge Alexandre de Moraes under the Global Magnitsky Act in July, punishing him for overseeing the trial that led to the conviction and imprisonment of former President Jair Bolsonaro for attempting a coup after losing his 2022 re-election bid.
Trump had called that trial a “witch hunt” and his government accused Moraes of using the courts as weapons, authorizing arbitrary pretrial detentions and suppressing freedom of expression.
On Friday, the Treasury Department also removed sanctions imposed in September on Moraes’ wife, Viviane Barci, as well as sanctions imposed on the Lex Institute, a financial entity controlled by Barci and other family members.
The sanctions had stoked tensions between Brasilia and Washington this summer, when Trump imposed steep tariffs on many products imported from Brazil, some of which he began reducing last month.
Lula welcomed the move on Friday and said he pushed for the sanctions to be lifted in a call with Trump last week.
“In my conversation with Trump last week, he asked me, ‘Is this good for you?’ I said it is good for Brazil and for Brazilian democracy,” Lula said Friday at an event in Sao Paulo.
Moraes, at the same event, described the Treasury’s decision as a “triple victory” for democracy, the justice system and the sovereignty of Brazil.
“I couldn’t help but thank President Lula for his efforts on behalf of me and my wife,” Moraes said.
Trump and Lula discussed sanctions last week during what the U.S. leader called a “great” phone conversation, announcing what he called a “newly formed partnership” with Lula after months of tensions.
A source within Brazil’s presidency told Reuters, on condition of anonymity, that Brazil offered nothing in return when Lula proposed lifting sanctions over the call.
“There was no quid pro quo,” the source said.
Washington supports sentence reductions
Friday’s announcement came days after Brazilian lawmakers voted to drastically shorten the sentences of Bolsonaro and others convicted of undemocratic acts after the 2022 elections.
The Trump administration has expressed support for the legislation, which now moves to Brazil’s Senate and would likely face resistance from Lula and the Supreme Court.
“The United States views the passage of a major amnesty bill by Brazil’s Lower House as a step in the right direction indicating that law enforcement conditions in Brazil are improving,” a senior Trump administration official said Friday, calling continued sanctions against Moraes “inconsistent with U.S. foreign policy interests.”
Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro, Bolsonaro’s eldest son who last week announced a presidential bid with his father’s blessing, welcomed the Trump administration’s move as a “great gesture” toward Brazil’s right and said it was a sign that the Senate should approve the bill that could reduce his father’s prison sentence.
“We will be voting on the amnesty bill next week in the Senate, and if it passes, I have no doubt that the United States will completely eliminate surcharges on Brazilian products exported there,” Flavio wrote in X, referring to Trump’s remaining tariffs on Brazilian products.
US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau celebrated the approval of the sentencing reduction bill in the lower house of Congress.
“The United States has consistently expressed concern about efforts to use the legal process to weaponize political differences in Brazil,” Landau wrote in X, calling the approval a “first step in addressing these abuses.”
The pressure campaign on Moraes and the resulting tariffs had been championed by Flavio’s US-based younger brother Eduardo, drawing criticism at home even among Brazilian conservatives.
In a statement, Eduardo lamented the Trump administration’s decision to remove sanctions on Moraes, citing a lack of political unity.
“The lack of internal cohesion and insufficient support for initiatives carried out abroad contributed to the worsening of the current situation,” said Eduardo.
