BRASILIA/WASHINGTON: The United States has lifted sanctions against the Brazilian Supreme Court judge targeted for overseeing a criminal case against an ally of President Donald Trump, the Treasury Department said on Friday.
The turnaround in less than five months, which came after the United States began rolling back steep tariffs on Brazilian goods, showed how quickly Trump has warmed to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and moved on from an aggressive defense of his right-wing predecessor.
The United States had sanctioned Judge Alexandre de Moraes under the Global Magnitsky Act in July, punishing him for overseeing the trial that led to former President Jair Bolsonaro’s conviction and imprisonment for an attempted coup after losing his 2022 re-election bid.
Trump had called that trial a “witch hunt,” and his administration accused Moraes of weaponizing courts, authorizing arbitrary detentions, and stifling free speech.
On Friday, the Treasury Department also lifted sanctions imposed in September against Moraes’ wife, Viviane Barci, as well as sanctions on the Lex Institute, a financial entity controlled by Barci and other family members.
The sanctions had fueled tensions between Brasilia and Washington this summer, when Trump imposed steep tariffs on many goods imported from Brazil, some of which began rolling back last month.
Lula welcomed the move on Friday and said he was pushing for the sanctions to be lifted in a call with Trump last week.
“In my conversation with Trump last week, he asked, ‘Is this good for you?’ I said it is good for Brazil and for Brazilian democracy,” Lula said at an event in Sao Paulo on Friday.
Speaking at the same event, Moraes called the finance ministry’s decision a “triple victory” for Brazil’s democracy, legal system and sovereignty.
“I could not help but thank President Lula for his efforts on my behalf and on behalf of my wife,” Moraes said.
Trump and Lula discussed sanctions last week in what the US leader called a “good” phone call that heralded what he called a “newly formed partnership” with Lula after months of tension.
A source within the Brazilian presidency told Reuters on condition of anonymity that Brazil offered nothing in return when Lula proposed lifting sanctions on the call.
“There was no quid pro quo,” the source said.
Washington support for cutting sentences
Friday’s announcement came days after Brazilian lawmakers voted to dramatically shorten the sentences of Bolsonaro and others convicted of anti-democratic acts after the 2022 election.
The Trump administration has expressed support for the legislation, which now goes to Brazil’s Senate and is likely to face opposition from Lula and the Supreme Court.
“The United States sees the passage of an important amnesty bill by Brazil’s lower house as a step in the right direction that signals that legislative conditions in Brazil are improving,” a senior Trump administration official said Friday, calling continued sanctions against Moraes “inconsistent with U.S. foreign policy interests.”
Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, Bolsonaro’s eldest son, who last week announced a presidential bid with his father’s blessing, welcomed the Trump administration’s move as a “huge gesture” to Brazil’s right wing and said it was a sign the Senate should pass the bill that could cut his father’s prison term.
“We will vote on the amnesty bill next week in the Senate, and if it passes, I have no doubt that the US will completely remove the tariffs on Brazilian products exported there,” Flavio wrote on X, referring to Trump’s remaining tariffs on Brazilian goods.
US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau welcomed the sentence reduction bill through the lower house of Congress.
“The United States has consistently expressed concern about efforts to use the legal process to weaponize political dissent in Brazil,” Landau wrote on X, calling the approval a “first step toward addressing these abuses.”
The pressure campaign on Moraes and the resulting tariffs had been championed by Flavio’s American-based younger brother Eduardo, drawing criticism at home even among Brazilian conservatives.
In a statement, Eduardo expressed regret at the Trump administration’s decision to lift sanctions against Moraes, citing a lack of political unity.
“The lack of internal cohesion and the insufficient support for initiatives abroad contributed to the worsening of the current situation,” said Eduardo.
