President Donald Trump has imposed sanctions on Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the lead judge in a controversial criminal case against former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro.
The Treasury Department announced the sanctions Wednesday, accusing De Moraes of authorizing “arbitrary” detentions, censoring political speech, and carrying out politically motivated prosecutions.
The move follows Trump’s threat earlier this month to impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods if the Bolsonaro trial continued.
“Alexandre de Moraes has taken it upon himself to be judge and jury in an unlawful witch hunt against U.S. and Brazilian citizens and companies,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said.
Bessent said De Moraes is behind a campaign of censorship, political targeting, and human rights violations.
“Today’s action makes clear that Treasury will continue to hold accountable those who threaten U.S. interests and the freedoms of our citizens,” he said.
Trump has long described the Bolsonaro prosecution as “unjust” and politically driven.
He sent Bolsonaro a letter earlier this month offering support and condemning the trial, per Fox News.
The sanctions freeze all assets and property De Moraes holds within the United States or in the hands of any U.S. person. Any company or financial institution working with De Moraes also risks being sanctioned.
These sanctions were issued under Executive Order 13818, signed by Trump during his first term in 2017. The order builds on the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, which allows the U.S. government to sanction foreign officials accused of corruption or human rights violations.
Rumors of sanctions had circulated for weeks, as Bolsonaro’s son Eduardo reportedly worked behind the scenes with the Trump White House to push for U.S. intervention.
De Moraes, acting as the official “rapporteur” of the Bolsonaro case, has played a central role in advancing the criminal probe. The investigation alleges Bolsonaro and 33 others plotted to stay in power despite losing the 2022 election to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The case claims Bolsonaro helped draft a decree to give legal cover to the plan, pressured military officials to support it, and incited public unrest to destabilize the government.
According to the Brazilian Prosecutor-General’s office, the plan also included proposals to poison Lula and assassinate a Supreme Court justice. The allegations were laid out in an 884-page report.
In March, a five-judge panel of Brazil’s Supreme Court unanimously accepted the charges and ordered Bolsonaro to stand trial.
Trump has denounced the case as a sham designed to silence political opposition. “This is a disgraceful attack on freedom,” he said.
The sanctions against De Moraes come just weeks after the Trump administration also targeted four International Criminal Court judges over rulings against U.S. and Israeli sovereignty.
Bessent said the administration remains committed to protecting civil liberties and exposing corruption, both at home and abroad. The De Moraes sanctions, he said, send a strong message to foreign officials who abuse their power.
The post Trump Sanctions Anti-Bolsonaro Brazilian Judge Alexandre de Moraes appeared first on Resist the Mainstream.
Click this link for the original source of this article.
Author: Anthony Gonzalez
This content is courtesy of, and owned and copyrighted by, https://resistthemainstream.org and its author. This content is made available by use of the public RSS feed offered by the host site and is used for educational purposes only. If you are the author or represent the host site and would like this content removed now and in the future, please contact USSANews.com using the email address in the Contact page found in the website menu.
