LatinNews Daily - 11 August 2025

*Brazil’s foreign ministry has summoned the chargé d’affaires of the US embassy in Brasília, Gabriel Escobar, to discuss recent comments made by US government officials criticising supreme court (STF) justice Alexandre de Moraes. On 6 August acting Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy Darren Beattie, took to social media to describe De Moraes as the “architect” of “censorship and persecution” against Brazil’s former president Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2023), with the US embassy in Brazil sharing his post. De Moraes is the presiding judge over a case involving an alleged coup plot in 2022 to help Bolsonaro stay in power, and on 30 July the US government sanctioned De Moraes. The same day, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to impose high tariffs on many Brazilian products, citing the prosecution of Bolsonaro. The Brazilian government led by President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has sought to portray itself as a cooperative partner willing to negotiate a tariff deal but has also criticised what it perceives to be US pressure on a Brazilian judicial case. With the increasingly hostile rhetoric, bilateral relations could sour further, dampening the short-term prospects for a tariff deal. Escobar reportedly met with Brazil’s Vice President Geraldo Alckmin on 7 August, who is in charge of the Lula government’s tariff negotiation efforts, although it is unclear if any progress was made towards dialogue and a de-escalation of tensions.

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