US revokes Brazilian ambassador's visa amid growing diplomatic dispute

The United States has revoked the visa of Brazil’s ambassador in Washington after Brazil withheld formal approval for President Donald Trump’s nominee for US ambassador and refused visas to two American diplomats, a senior State Department official said.

Ambassador Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti’s visa will be reinstated if the diplomatic impasse is resolved, Caliber.Az reports, citing Reuters.

The latest move further escalates the widening standoff between Trump and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a dispute that has disrupted bilateral trade and is becoming an issue ahead of Brazil’s presidential election in October.

"The action was that the visa of a senior diplomat here was revoked or canceled. That is not the same thing as kicking the person out of the country," the official said.

"It means that they are here but without a visa, and would have their visa restored if the balance is restored by giving agrément to our chosen ambassadorial nominee," the official added, referring to the formal diplomatic approval required for an ambassador to take up a post, a step that is generally considered routine.

For several weeks, Brazil has declined to grant agrément to Daniel Perez, a Florida state representative and close ally of Secretary of State Marco Rubio, whom Trump nominated as US ambassador on June 1.

Reuters reported last week, citing sources, that some officials in the Trump administration had become increasingly frustrated with Brasilia’s delay. One source said Washington was prepared to take punitive measures if Brazil continued to withhold the approval needed for the incoming US ambassador to assume his post.

Last month, Brazil also denied visas to two officials from the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. Brazilian authorities defended the decision, arguing that the officials’ planned visit sought to undermine confidence in the country’s electoral system, calling it an "unacceptable attempt to interfere in the national political process".

By Jeyhun Aghazada