US lifts sanctions on Brazil judge targeted by Trump

BRASILIA/WASHINGTON: The United States has removed 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 reversal in less than five months, coming after the US started rolling back steep tariffs on Brazilian goods, showed how quickly Trump has warmed to Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and moved on from an aggressive defence of his right-wing predecessor.

The US had sanctioned Justice 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 attempting a coup after losing his 2022 re-election bid.

Trump had called that trial a "witch hunt" and his administration accused Moraes of weaponising courts, authorising arbitrary pre-trial detentions and suppressing free speech.

On Friday, the Treasury Department also removed sanctions imposed in September on Moraes' wife, Viviane Barci, as well as sanctions placed on the Lex Institute, a financial entity controlled by Barci and other family members.

The sanctions had stoked tensions between Brasilia and Washington this summer, when Trump imposed hefty tariffs on many goods imported from Brazil, some of which he began rolling back last month.

Lula welcomed the move on Friday, saying he pushed for the sanctions to be lifted on 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.

Moraes, at the same event, called the Treasury's decision a "triple win" for Brazil's democracy, justice system and sovereignty.

"I couldn't 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 during what the US leader called a "great" phone conversation, heralding what he called a "newly formed partnership" with Lula after months of tensions.

A source within Brazil's presidency told Reuters on condition of anonymity that Brazil did not offer anything 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 would likely face resistance 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 lawfare conditions in Brazil are improving," a senior Trump administration official said on Friday, calling continued sanctions on Moraes "inconsistent with US 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 the Brazilian right and said it was a sign the Senate should pass the bill that could cut his father's prison sentence.

"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 surcharges on Brazilian products exported there," Flavio wrote on X, referencing Trump's remaining tariffs on Brazilian goods.

US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau welcomed the sentence reduction bill's passage through the lower house of Congress.

"The US has consistently expressed concern over efforts to use the legal process to weaponize political differences in Brazil," Landau wrote on X, calling the approval a "first step towards addressing these abuses."

The pressure campaign on Moraes and resulting tariffs had been championed by Flavio's US-based younger brother Eduardo, which drew criticism at home even among Brazilian conservatives.

In a statement, Eduardo expressed regret over the Trump administration's decision to remove the sanctions on Moraes, citing a lack of political unity.

"The lack of internal cohesion and the insufficient support for initiatives pursued abroad contributed to the worsening of the current situation," Eduardo said.