US revokes visa for Brazilian ambassador

{"text":[[{"start":6.12,"text":"The Trump administration has revoked the visa of Brazil’s ambassador to the US in an escalating diplomatic dispute with the government of leftwing president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva."}],[{"start":16.48,"text":"Washington’s move came in retaliation for Brasília’s denial of travel documents for two senior US envoys last month and its alleged delay in granting approval for President Donald Trump’s choice of ambassador to the South American country."}],[{"start":32.471,"text":"Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti’s US visa would be quickly restored if the Brazilian government accepted Trump’s ambassadorial nominee, said a senior state department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity on Tuesday. Viotti was not being expelled, they added."}],[{"start":46.04,"text":"“We’ve taken reciprocal action with respect to a Brazilian diplomat here to make the point that it can’t always be one-sided,” the person said."}],[{"start":54.64,"text":"Brazil’s government slammed the US for the visa revocation, calling its reasoning “false” and saying there was no timeframe for ratifying the appointment of an ambassador under international law."}],[{"start":64.8,"text":"“Today’s decision is not an isolated incident. It is part of a deliberate escalation of hostile measures against Brazil, driven by ideological reasons,” read a statement."}],[{"start":75.2,"text":"The development raises tensions between the two most populous nations in the Americas, which have clashed over trade, Washington’s policy towards Latin America and Brazil’s regulation of US social media platforms."}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":86.52,"text":"A pair of officials from the US state department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor were barred from entering Brazil last month over fears of potential interference in upcoming elections. Brasília believed the representatives intended to cast doubt over the country’s voting system."}],[{"start":101.94,"text":"At the time, Washington denied the allegations as “a baseless lie”, insisting that the purpose of the delegation was to discuss election integrity, religious freedom and free speech."}],[{"start":112.12,"text":"Lula, who is seeking a non-consecutive fourth term in October’s election, has suggested the US may seek to act in favour of his main challenger, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, son of jailed ex-president Jair Bolsonaro."}],[{"start":124.88,"text":"Separately on Tuesday, Argentina said Brazil was downgrading diplomatic ties between the two countries after President Javier Milei appeared at Bolsonaro’s campaign launch in July and called Lula a “thief” and an “ex-con”."}],[{"start":138.88,"text":"Brazil asked the Argentine ambassador in Brasília to leave and said its envoy to Buenos Aires, who was called home for consultations last month, will indefinitely remain in Brazil, according to a statement by Argentina’s foreign ministry. “We regret Brazil’s decision to keep isolating itself from the rest of the region over purely ideological matters,” it said."}],[{"start":159.96,"text":"A crisis in the US-Brazil bilateral relationship exploded more than a year ago when Trump slapped a 50 per cent tariff on Brazil in an unsuccessful attempt to have coup-plotting charges dropped against the elder Bolsonaro. The hard-right populist and Trump ally is now serving a 27-year sentence after being found guilty of planning a putsch."}],[{"start":180.2,"text":"The levy was later overturned by the US Supreme Court, but Washington last month imposed a new 25 per cent tax on many Brazilian goods."}],[{"start":189.2,"text":"Trump’s pick for ambassador in Brazil, Florida House Speaker Daniel Perez, was nominated for the role in June. However, Brasília had indicated it would not proceed until after elections in the country, the US official said. Brazil’s government said the request was still under review."}],[{"start":205.48,"text":"Additional reporting by Ciara Nugent in London"}],[{"start":208.72,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1785980178_7620.mp3"}