SAO PAULO (AP) — In a recent diplomatic move, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has revoked the visa of a U.S. diplomat, Darren Beattie, in response to Beattie’s attempt to visit jailed ex-president Jair Bolsonaro. Lula cited this as a reciprocal action following the U.S.’s revocation of Brazilian officials’ visas last year.
The controversy arose after Beattie, who served as an under secretary for public diplomacy during the Trump administration, was denied access to visit Bolsonaro in prison by Brazil’s Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes. This decision followed Beattie’s application for a visa to attend a forum in São Paulo, where he expressed intentions to visit Bolsonaro, a prominent adversary of Lula.
In a statement, Lula emphasized the reciprocity of the action, linking it to U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s earlier decision in August to revoke visas of Brazilian officials allegedly connected to Cuba’s international medical program. Lula stated, “That American fellow who said he had come here to visit Jair Bolsonaro was forbidden to do so,” adding that Beattie would remain barred from Brazil until the reinstatement of visas for Brazil’s health minister and his family.
Justice de Moraes, who had initially permitted Beattie’s visit based on a request from Bolsonaro’s legal team, reversed his decision after receiving new information from the Brazilian Foreign Ministry. The ministry advised that such a visit, especially during an election year, could be seen as “undue interference” in Brazil’s internal politics.
President Lula, eyeing reelection later this year, is expected to face significant competition from Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, son of the former president. A Brazilian government insider, who requested anonymity, indicated that the visa cancellation was due to “the omission of information and lies about the purpose of the visit upon his visa request.”
The U.S. administration, including the White House and the embassy in Brasilia, has refrained from commenting on the visa revocation or the Supreme Court’s ruling concerning Beattie, who is known for his critical stance towards both Lula and de Moraes.
Previously, U.S. President Donald Trump, a supporter of Bolsonaro, criticized the legal actions against him as politically charged. Trump had initially imposed tariffs on Brazil but has since relaxed some of these tariffs, such as in November, to alleviate consumer costs in the U.S. Lula has expressed a desire to engage with Trump in Washington to discuss tariffs and other bilateral issues, though no meeting date has been set.
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