The US and Brazil were locked in an escalating row over Brasília’s prosecution of former President Jair Bolsonaro for an alleged coup attempt.
In a letter published Thursday, US President Donald Trump lamented the “terrible treatment” Bolsonaro was receiving as part of his trial: Trump has labeled the case a “witch hunt” and threatened Brazil with punitive tariffs.
Meanwhile, in an address to the nation, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva slammed Washington’s “unacceptable blackmail” and told CNN that Trump was “not elected to be emperor of the world.”
The dispute could worsen: One of Bolsonaro’s sons is working with the White House to ready sanctions on a Brazilian judge due to preside over the trial, The Washington Post reported.
