The United States slapped new sanctions on Monday against the wife of Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the judge who led the trial convicting former President Jair Bolsonaro on coup charges. This move ramps up pressure on Brazil’s judiciary amid ongoing tensions over free speech and political trials.
De Moraes himself faced U.S. sanctions back in July, but now his 56-year-old wife, Viviane Barci de Moraes, and a São Paulo law firm tied to the family—the Institute of Legal Studies (Lex)—are in the crosshairs. The Treasury Department says these sanctions block them from any business dealings with Americans or U.S. companies. They also freeze assets and cancel visas.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent didn’t hold back in his statement. He blamed de Moraes for “an oppressive campaign of censorship, arbitrary detentions, and politicized prosecutions—including against former President Jair Bolsonaro.” U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio echoed that, accusing the judge of “weaponizing courts, authorizing arbitrary pre-trial detentions, and suppressing freedom of expression.”
The backstory ties directly to Bolsonaro’s recent downfall. On September 11, Brazil’s Supreme Court hit the former leader with a 27-year prison sentence for his role in a failed coup attempt in January 2023. That came after Bolsonaro lost the 2022 election to leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
President Donald Trump, a close ally of Bolsonaro, has blasted the whole process as a “witch hunt.” These U.S. sanctions highlight growing friction between Washington and Brasília over issues like censorship in Brazil and Bolsonaro’s coup trial.
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