SAO PAULO (AP) 鈥� Brazil’s Foreign Ministry said on Saturday it denied visas to two U.S. State Department officials that sought to travel to the South American nation next week, in between the two countries.
The move became public after The Washington Post reported the Brazilian government saying the officials, Riley M. Barnes, an assistant secretary, and Samuel Samson, a deputy assistant, wanted to cast doubt on the upcoming October elections in Brazil.
A spokesperson for Brazil鈥檚 foreign office said Barnes and Samson requested visas on July 20 and they were denied Friday. He did not disclose the reasons behind the decision.
Brazilian President Luiz In谩cio Lula da Silva will bid for reelection against , whose family has many ties with the Trump administration.
Sen. Bolsonaro and his brother, Eduardo, visited U.S. officials in Washington, including U.S. President Donald Trump, in late May. Shortly afterward, the Trump administration classified Brazil鈥檚 biggest drug-trafficking groups 鈥� 鈥� as foreign terrorist organizations, a move Lula opposes.
The Trump administration also imposed an up to on thousands of Brazilian exports, which came into force Friday. The U.S. government claims the South American nation has unfair competition practices and fails to stop forced labor practices 鈥� both accusations rejected by the Lula administration as an attempt to
The U.S. State Department said Barnes and Samson planned to go to Brasilia July 27-30 to meet government officials, religious leaders and others about 鈥渆lection integrity,鈥� religious freedom and freedom of expression. The department, in response to a query from The Associated Press, called it a routine visit and said that 鈥渁ny insinuation of a 鈥榩loy鈥� to undermine a democratic nation鈥檚 election is a baseless lie.鈥�
Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has for years about the country鈥檚 electronic voting system, without providing any evidence for his claims. He is now serving a 27-year prison sentence at home for an attempted coup. He has long insisted that the machines, used for a quarter-century, are prone to fraud.
His son, Sen. Bolsonaro, has recently repeated some of these claims, although he steered clear of those on Saturday when his Liberal Party confirmed him as a
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