Two Trump administration officials were denied visas by Brazil ahead of a planned trip to the country this week, Brazil's Foreign Ministry confirmed to USA TODAY on July 26.
Assistant Secretary Riley M. Barnes of the State Department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, and Deputy Assistant Secretary Samuel Samson were denied visas on July 24 for a trip scheduled to begin July 27, the ministry said. The ministry did not provide a reason for the visa denials.
Multiple news outlets reported that Brazilian officials viewed the planned visit as an effort to cast doubt on the integrity of the country's electoral system ahead of October's presidential election. An unnamed Brazilian official told Reuters that the denial was based on "evidence
pointing to a renewed attempt to politically exploit the situation and undermine the electoral system."
The Washington Post, which first reported the visa denial, quoted an unnamed Brazilian official as saying the trip was a "ploy" that was "incompatible with Brazilian democracy."
The State Department stated to USA TODAY that Barnes and Samson were to travel to Brazil for what it said was a trip to discuss election integrity, religious freedom, and freedom of expression with government leaders and members of civil society. A department spokesperson called accusations of undermining the election a "baseless lie" in the email.
The Post described Samson as a promoter of President Donald Trump's policies abroad who has cultivated "ties to right-wing groups."
Earlier this month, Trump imposed a 25% tariff on some imports from Brazil, which Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva called "unfair" in an opinion column published by the Post on July 26.
Convicted ex-president's son running for Brazilian presidency
The October 4 election sees Brazilian Senator Flávio Bolsonaro face the incumbent Lula.
Bolsonaro is the son of ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted of plotting to overturn the country's 2022 election, which he lost to Lula, to remain in power. He was sentenced to 27 years in prison.
Jair Bolsonaro repeatedly questioned the integrity of Brazil's electoral system before the 2022 election, echoing claims made by Trump before and after the 2020 U.S. presidential election.
At a July 21 event attended by dozens of diplomats, Flávio Bolsonaro renewed criticism of Brazil's electoral system. The Brazilian senator urged foreign governments to send observers to monitor the country's elections and claimed that Brazil's electronic voting machines were produced by Smartmatic, a company linked by Trump allies to allegations of electoral manipulation in Venezuela.
"I will not go into more details, but just to put on record that many of these machines that are used in the Brazilian elections are from the same company," he said.
Both Smartmatic and Brazil’s electoral court stated to Reuters that no Brazilian voting machines were supplied by the company. Flávio Bolsonaro said in a statement to Reuters that he had not questioned "the integrity of Brazil’s voting system."
Trump stated in a primetime speech earlier this month that there was a "specific plot" to rig the 2020 Venezuelan presidential election in favor of incumbent President Nicolas Maduro. But a CIA report released in conjunction with the speech concluded that while Maduro and his predecessor Hugo Chavez "developed sustained interest and likely some capability" to manipulate voting machines, that intelligence "did not definitively confirm that large-scale electronic fraud was successfully executed in specific Venezuelan elections."
Samson and Barnes had planned to meet with Flávio Bolsonaro, according to the New York Times.
Brazil recalls ambassador after Trump ally attacks government in Bolsonaro campaign
Brazil recalled its ambassador to Argentina on July 26 after Argentinian President Javier Milei used a trip to the country to criticize Brazilian leaders and judiciary, the Foreign Ministry confirmed to USA TODAY.
Milei called Lula a "convict" and labeled the Brazilian government "socialist trash" in a campaign event with the younger Bolsonaro.
The self-described radical libertarian is one of Trump's closest Latin American allies. In October, the administration provided an economic lifeline to Argentina, in the form of a $20 billion currency swap, as the country faced an economic crisis due to the instability of the Argentine peso.
The Foreign Ministry called Milei's remarks "insults" in a statement to USA TODAY. The decision to recall Ambassador Julio Bitelli was made after Brazil's Foreign Minister, Mauro Vieira, consulted with Lula, Reuters reported, citing anonymous sources.
Brazil and Argentina have a virtually non-existent diplomatic relationship. Milei has not sought an official meeting with Lula on either trip to Brazil. The Brazilian leader has not shown any interest in hosting him.
A Datafolha poll released on July 24 shows Lula ahead in a one-on-one runoff 48% to 43%.
Contributing: Reuters
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Brazil denies visas to US officials ahead of October election
