The United States on Monday sanctioned the wife of Alexandre de Moraes, a Brazilian Supreme Court justice, over the prosecution and conviction of President Donald Trump ally, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. File Photo By Andre Borges/EPA
The United States has sanctioned the wife of Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, escalating the Trump administration’s campaign against the judge overseeing the prosecution of Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s former far-right president and ally of Donald Trump.
Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison earlier this month by Brazil’s Supreme Court for attempting a coup on Jan. 8, 2023, when thousands of his supporters stormed the Brazilian Congress, Supreme Court and Presidential Palace to call on the military to oust then-newly inaugurated President Lula da Silva.
Moraes was among the panel of justices to sentence Bolsonaro, but the Trump administration has been targeting him with punitive measures since at least mid-July as he oversaw his ally’s criminal case.
The sanctions announced Monday by the U.S. Treasury and State Department target Viviane Barci de Moraes and the Lex Instituto de Estudos Juridicos LTDA, an organization linked to the Supreme Court justice, which his wife heads.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent accused Moraes without providing evidence of conducting “an oppressive campaign of censorship, arbitrary detentions and politicized prosecutions — including against former President Jair Bolsonaro.”
“Today’s action makes clear that Treasury will continue to target individuals who provide material support to de Moraes as he abuses human rights,” he said in a statement.
The sanctions — which freeze all property of those named and bar U.S. persons from doing business with them — were imposed under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, a law intended as a punitive measure against those who violate human rights.
The Trump administration has described the prosecution and now conviction of Bolsonaro as “unjust” and “political persecution.”
Amid the trial, the State Department revoked the U.S. visa for Moraes over his “political witch hunt” against Bolsonaro. It then slapped a 40% tariff on Brazilian goods and sanctioned Moraes on July 30 via an executive order that accused the justice of abusing his “judicial authority to target political opponents, shield corruption allies and suppress dissent.”
Brazil has rejected the accusations.
Gilmar Mendes, the minister of the Supreme Federal Court of Brazil, offered his “total support” for Moraes against the Trump administration’s punitive measures.
“This is an arbitrary measure that affronts the independence of the judiciary and violates the sovereignty of Brazil,” Mendes said in a statement.
“Punishing a magistrate and his family for fulfilling his constitutional duty is a direct attack on republican institutions.”
Brazil’s Foreign Ministry, in an English-language statement, said it received the announcement of sanctions against Moraes’ wife with “profound indignation,” accusing the Trump administration of trying to interfere with its internal affairs based on “falsehoods.”
“In the case of Brazil — a democracy that successfully defended itself against an attempted coup d’etat — Trump administration’s use of the Magnitsky Act is not only an offense to the 201 years of friendship between the two countries — it also represents the politicization and distortion in the application of the law,” the ministry said.
“This new attack on Brazilian sovereignty will not achieve its goal of benefiting those who led the failed coup attempt, some of whom have already been convicted by the Supreme Federal Court.
“Brazil will not bow to this latest aggression.”
Trump campaigned on seeking retribution against his political opponents and has used his executive powers to impose punitive measures against those involved in prosecutions tied to his alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 election, as well as critics.
On his first day in office, Trump issued clemency to almost 1,600 people who were convicted or awaiting trial for offenses related to the Jan. 6, 2021, insurrection of the U.S. Congress.
