SAO PAULO (AP) — Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Friday his government revoked the visa of a U.S. State Department official, calling it a reciprocal measure after Brazilian officials had their visas revoked in the United States last year.
Lula's decision against Darren Beattie is tied to a move in August by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio that revoked and restricted visas of some Brazilian officials who Washington claimed to have links to a Cuban program that sends doctors overseas.
On Thursday Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes denied Beattie access to the Brasilia prison where former President Jair Bolsonaro is jailed.
“That American fellow who said he had come here to visit Jair Bolsonaro was forbidden to do so," Lula said, adding that he will be blocked from Brazil until the visas for Brazil's health minister and his family are reinstated.
Moraes, who sentenced Bolsonaro to 27 years in prison for leading a coup attempt in 2023, said in his ruling that Beattie had requested a visa to attend the Brazil–US Critical Minerals Forum in São Paulo on Wednesday.
The ruling mentions the Brazilian foreign office's view that Beattie's visit to Bolsonaro could represent “undue interference." The 80-year-old Lula is running for reelection later this year, with Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro, one of the sons of the far-right leader, expected to be his main opponent in his bid for a fourth term.
A Brazilian government official told The Associated Press on Friday that Beattie's visa was revoked because of “the omission of information and lies about the purpose of the visit upon his visa request.”
The official spoke under condition of anonymity for lack of authorization to discuss the matter publicly.
The White House did not comment on Lula's decision or the Brazilian Supreme Court ruling.
Lula has repeatedly suggested he wants to meet Trump in Washington this month to discuss tariffs, security cooperation and other topics, but no date has been set.
Beattie's profile in the State Department's website says he joined “from the private sector, where he worked as a media entrepreneur and political strategist." It said he has served in government as a White House speechwriter and policy aide.
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