Brazil denied visa requests on Friday for two senior Trump administration State Department officials who had planned to travel to the country to scrutinise the integrity of its electoral system, two Brazilian officials told Reuters and Bloomberg News on Saturday, in a move Brasilia described as blocking a renewed attempt to politically exploit the situation ahead of its October 4 presidential election.
The delegation would have included Assistant Secretary Riley M. Barnes from the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, and Deputy Assistant Secretary Samuel Samson. Brazilian officials said the rejection was based on evidence pointing to an attempt to undermine the country’s electoral system. The Brazilian Foreign Ministry confirmed the visa denials to Bloomberg.
The October election pits leftist incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva against Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, son of former President Jair Bolsonaro and a Trump ally. The Trump administration also recently imposed 25% tariffs on Brazilian goods. The State Department did not immediately comment on the visa denials.
