{"id":6473,"date":"2026-08-05T03:00:06","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T03:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=6473"},"modified":"2026-08-05T03:00:06","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T03:00:06","slug":"us-revokes-brazil-ambassadors-visa-in-escalation-of-diplomatic-feud","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/?p=6473","title":{"rendered":"US revokes Brazil ambassador\u2019s visa in escalation of diplomatic feud"},"content":{"rendered":"<div data-gu-name=\"media\" class=\"dcr-14sl0e4\">\n<div class=\"dcr-17l77cs\">\n<figure id=\"ee746c7f-03bb-47fe-bbea-bc24ab8bbc01\" class=\"dcr-191xnya\">\n<div id=\"img-1\" class=\"dcr-1t7hdmw\"><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"a woman wearing black with a pearl necklace\" src=\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/261cc5d09071f07757bc324bf14ad434f575ede5\/186_0_3728_2982\/master\/3728.jpg?width=465&amp;dpr=1&amp;s=none&amp;crop=none\" width=\"465\" height=\"371.95010729613733\" loading=\"eager\" class=\"dcr-up96pv\"><span class=\"dcr-kogzpx\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-18mnkpm\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1294qmb\"><label for=\"the-checkbox\" class=\"dcr-4sl2vt\"><\/label> <\/p>\n<div id=\"the-caption\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1mfxiaj\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti has not been expelled but if she were to leave the US she would have to reapply for a visa, according to the state department.<\/span> Photograph: Wolfgang Kumm\/DPA\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/span><a href=\"#img-1\" data-ignore=\"global-link-styling\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-zwabc0\" aria-hidden=\"true\"><button data-element-id=\"ee746c7f-03bb-47fe-bbea-bc24ab8bbc01\" type=\"button\" class=\"open-lightbox dcr-1bitgpn\" aria-haspopup=\"dialog\"><span class=\"dcr-1shbixy\">View image in fullscreen<\/span><\/button><\/a><\/div>\n<p><span class=\"dcr-qda0hp\"><figcaption data-spacefinder-role=\"inline\" class=\"dcr-1e9iiy9\"><span class=\"dcr-13i4yc9\"><\/span><span class=\"dcr-1cipnsy\">Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti has not been expelled but if she were to leave the US she would have to reapply for a visa, according to the state department.<\/span> Photograph: Wolfgang Kumm\/DPA\/AFP\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/span><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"headline\" class=\"dcr-ql9l8l\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6mja0y\">\n<h1 class=\"dcr-l0wuod\">US revokes Brazil ambassador\u2019s visa in escalation of diplomatic feud<\/h1>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"standfirst\" class=\"dcr-1xpojbf\">\n<div class=\"dcr-1gm5ptv\">\n<p>Move is retaliation for Lula\u2019s government refusal to approve Trump\u2019s nominee for ambassador in Bras\u00edlia<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"body\" class=\"dcr-x1al2c\">\n<div class=\"dcr-11gq2tx\">\n<div id=\"maincontent\" class=\"dcr-1w2vkyc\">\n<div class=\"article-body-commercial-selector article-body-viewer-selector dcr-ogvvui\">\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Donald Trump\u2019s administration has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.reuters.com\/world\/americas\/us-revokes-visa-brazilian-ambassador-over-diplomatic-dispute-official-says-2026-08-04\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">revoked the visa<\/a> of Brazil\u2019s ambassador to the US in a sharp escalation of a diplomatic feud with the country\u2019s president, Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The US state department said <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Maria_Luiza_Ribeiro_Viotti\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti<\/a>\u2019s visa had been cancelled in retaliation for Brazil\u2019s refusal to approve Trump\u2019s nominee for ambassador in Bras\u00edlia and its decision last month to deny visas to two US diplomats seeking to visit ahead of an October election.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The Trump administration stopped short of expelling Viotti, a former senior United Nations official. But Washington warned that further diplomatic action remains possible if Bras\u00edlia continues to withhold its approval for would-be ambassador <a href=\"https:\/\/www.flhouse.gov\/Sections\/Representatives\/custom\/details.aspx?MemberId=4690&amp;LegislativeTermId=91\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Daniel Perez<\/a>, a Florida Republican and close ally of the US secretary of state, Marco Rubio.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"b7b8a841-e78d-4a36-b5c0-806aa6d6e29a\" data-spacefinder-role=\"richLink\" data-spacefinder-type=\"model.dotcomrendering.pageElements.RichLinkBlockElement\" class=\"dcr-1oq85qr\">\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" data-link-name=\"rich-link-3 | 3\" data-component=\"rich-link\" data-name=\"placeholder\" class=\"dcr-1rx5ky9\">\n<div data-format-theme=\"5\" data-format-design=\"0\" data-format-display=\"0\" class=\"dcr-uyoh2p\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/2026\/may\/29\/brazil-gangs-terrorist-rubio\" class=\"dcr-f35c0u\"><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-vvxpdt\">\n<div class=\"dcr-6z6e7\">\n<div class=\"dcr-zh9rih\">Lula says Brazil will not be treated like \u2018tinpot country\u2019 after US designates gangs as terrorists<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-oj13vq\">\n<div class=\"dcr-ef9nua\">Read more<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cWe communicated continually with the Brazilian government for weeks and have given the Brazilian government every opportunity to do the right thing, yet they have continually delayed and obfuscated,\u201d a state department spokesperson said.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The ambassador\u2019s visa could be restored if Brazil accepts Perez\u2019s appointment. \u201cThis is a reciprocal action,\u201d the spokesperson said. \u201cShould the ambassador leave the country, she would need to reapply for a visa.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The dispute has become entangled with Brazil\u2019s increasingly bitter election campaign, in which Lula, 80, is seeking a fourth, non-consecutive term against <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Fl%C3%A1vio_Bolsonaro\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Senator Fl\u00e1vio Bolsonaro<\/a>, son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, and a close political ally of Trump.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Bras\u00edlia swiftly condemned the US action as part of a deliberate campaign to influence the election. Lula\u2019s office said: \u201cToday\u2019s decision is not an isolated incident. It is part of a deliberate escalation of hostile measures against Brazil, motivated by ideological reasons.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Brazil also accused the US of breaching diplomatic norms by announcing Perez\u2019s nomination before seeking Bras\u00edlia\u2019s consent. The Brazilian government said its consideration of the appointment was still under way, and that it had been made clear no decision would be taken before the <a href=\"https:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/2026_Brazilian_general_election\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">first round of the election<\/a>, on 4 October.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The Trump administration argues that Brazil has no right to interfere with the president\u2019s choice of US ambassador to the country.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">\u201cPresident Trump has the right to determine who represents the American people and interests around the world,\u201d the state department said. \u201cWe reject any effort by foreign countries to interfere in our domestic processes.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The latest confrontation follows <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/world\/2026\/07\/24\/us-sending-envoys-question-brazilian-electoral-system-officials-say\/\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Brazil\u2019s refusal last month<\/a> to issue visas to Riley Barnes, assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labour, and one of his senior aides.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The US officials had planned to visit Bras\u00edlia from 27 to 30 July for meetings with government officials, religious leaders and others about election integrity, religious freedom and freedom of expression.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Washington described the trip as routine, and rejected Brazilian claims that it was intended to interfere in the election. \u201cAny insinuation of a \u2018ploy\u2019 to undermine a democratic nation\u2019s election is a baseless lie,\u201d the state department said at the time.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Bras\u00edlia has stood by its decision, saying the officials intended to cast doubt on the integrity of Brazil\u2019s electronic voting system in what it called an \u201cunacceptable attempt to interfere in the national political process\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The row is particularly sensitive because <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/world\/jair-bolsonaro\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">Jair Bolsonaro<\/a> and his supporters have spent years alleging, without evidence, that Brazil\u2019s electronic voting system is vulnerable to fraud. He has been barred from standing for office and was convicted over a plot to overturn his defeat in the 2022 election.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The diplomatic confrontation is the latest in a series of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2025\/jul\/10\/trump-lula-tariffs-brazil-explainer\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">clashes between Trump and Lula<\/a>, whose governments have sharply diverged over Latin American politics, Venezuela, Cuba and the role of the US in the region.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Trump has repeatedly intervened in political contests across Latin America, while Lula has made national sovereignty a central theme of his campaign. The Brazilian president has blamed Rubio for some of the administration\u2019s actions against his government, although he has sought to avoid a direct personal confrontation with Trump, and has said the two men got on well when they first met.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Economic pressure has added to the tensions. The Trump administration has <a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/jul\/16\/brazil-us-tariffs\" data-link-name=\"in body link\">imposed tariffs<\/a> of up to 37.5% on thousands of Brazilian exports, citing what it says are unfair trade practices and failures to prevent forced labour. Lula\u2019s government has rejected the allegations, and accused Trump\u2019s administration of trying to help Bolsonaro\u2019s political family.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">The US has also classified Brazil\u2019s two biggest drug-trafficking organisations as foreign terrorist organisations, a move opposed by Lula\u2019s government.<\/p>\n<p class=\"dcr-1s160rg\">Yet the state department insists that it still wants to restore a normal relationship with Bras\u00edlia. \u201cWe want to be back in a situation where we have a normal, productive, transparent relationship with our colleagues,\u201d a senior US official said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-print-layout=\"hide\" class=\"dcr-swayiu\"><span class=\"dcr-1xhbmzr\">Explore more on these topics<\/span><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-2c03t5\">\n<ul class=\"dcr-p7nd18\">\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-foreign-policy\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">US foreign policy<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/us-politics\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">US politics<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/world\/brazil\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Brazil<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/us-news\/donaldtrump\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Donald Trump<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/world\/americas\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Americas<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/world\/luiz-inacio-lula-da-silva\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">Luiz In\u00e1cio Lula da Silva<\/a><\/li>\n<li class=\"dcr-r721ee\"><a href=\"\/tone\/news\" class=\"dcr-856iwi\">news<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"dcr-313bdz\"><a href=\"mailto:?subject=US%20revokes%20Brazil%20ambassador%E2%80%99s%20visa%20in%20escalation%20of%20diplomatic%20feud&amp;body=https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/us-news\/2026\/aug\/04\/us-revokes-brazil-ambassador-visa?CMP=share_btn_url\" class=\"dcr-ncybeu\">Share<\/a><\/p>\n<div class=\"dcr-19bkree\"><a data-link-name=\"meta-syndication-article\" href=\"https:\/\/syndication.theguardian.com\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theguardian.com%2Fus-news%2F2026%2Faug%2F04%2Fus-revokes-brazil-ambassador-visa&amp;type=article&amp;internalpagecode=us-news\/2026\/aug\/04\/us-revokes-brazil-ambassador-visa\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer\" title=\"Reuse this content\" class=\"dcr-1c41onw\">Reuse this content<\/a><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div data-gu-name=\"right-column\" class=\"dcr-1kq7f60\"><span class=\"dcr-1ryr20k\"><\/span><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti has not been expelled but if she were to leave the US she would<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":6475,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6473","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-us-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6473","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6473"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6473\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6476,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6473\/revisions\/6476"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6475"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6473"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6473"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.usglobalnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6473"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}