Brazil denied visas to two U.S. State Department officials over election interference concerns

Brazil’s Foreign Ministry said Saturday that it denied visas to two U.S. State Department officials who had sought to travel to the country the following week. The denial marks the latest point of tension between the two countries.

The move became public after The Washington Post reported that the Brazilian government said the officials wanted to cast doubt on Brazil’s upcoming October elections. The officials were identified as Riley M. Barnes, an assistant secretary, and Samuel Samson, a deputy assistant, according to the report.

A spokesperson for Brazil’s foreign office said Barnes and Samson requested visas on July 20 and that the requests were denied Friday. The spokesperson did not disclose the reasons behind the decision.

Tensions between Brazil and the US have grown in recent months

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is seeking reelection and is expected to face Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, whose family has close ties with the Trump administration.

Sen. Bolsonaro and his brother, Eduardo, visited U.S. officials in Washington in late May, including President Donald Trump. Shortly afterward, the Trump administration classified Brazil’s largest drug-trafficking groups, First Command Capital and Red Command, as foreign terrorist organizations, a move Lula has opposed.

The Trump administration also imposed a tariff hike of up to 37.5% on thousands of Brazilian exports, which took effect Friday. The U.S. government has said Brazil engages in unfair competition practices and has failed to stop forced labor. The Lula administration has rejected both accusations, calling them an attempt to influence the election in favor of Sen. Bolsonaro.

The U.S. State Department said Barnes and Samson had planned to travel to Brasilia from July 27 to 30 to meet with government officials, religious leaders, and others to discuss “election integrity,” religious freedom, and freedom of expression, according to the department.

In response to a query from the AP, the department called the trip a routine visit and said “any insinuation of a ‘ploy’ to undermine a democratic nation’s election is a baseless lie.” Election interference has separately become a point of dispute inside the U.S., where Trump accused China of election interference before later softening his remarks.

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has for years raised concerns about the country’s electronic voting system, though he has not provided evidence to support his claims. He is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence at home following a conviction related to an attempted coup, according to the report. He has long maintained that the voting machines, which have been in use for 25 years, are vulnerable to fraud.

His son, Sen. Bolsonaro, has recently repeated some of these claims, according to the report. However, he avoided making similar statements on Saturday, when his Liberal Party confirmed his candidacy for president in Sao Paulo, according to the AP.

The visa denials come amid a broader deterioration in relations between the U.S. and Brazil, marked by the terrorist designation of the drug-trafficking groups, the new tariffs, and now the rejected visa applications. Both governments have publicly disputed each other’s characterization of these actions, with Brazilian officials describing certain U.S. moves as attempts to sway the election and U.S. officials denying any such intent.

Questions about voting machine security have also surfaced within the U.S. government itself, where the White House delayed releasing a report on voting machine security ahead of the November midterms. The Brazilian government has not said whether it plans to take further action regarding the officials’ planned visit or provided additional details on the visa denial beyond confirming the dates of the request and rejection.