The United States has imposed new financial sanctions on Viviane Barci de Moraes, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who presided over the trial of former President Jair Bolsonaro. Justice de Moraes himself was previously sanctioned in July 2025. These measures, enacted under the Global Magnitsky Act, freeze any assets Barci de Moraes may hold within the United States and prohibit her from engaging in economic transactions with U.S. citizens or companies. Her U.S. visa has also been suspended.
The U.S. Treasury Department stated that these actions are a response to Justice de Moraes' alleged involvement in an "oppressive campaign of censorship, arbitrary detentions, and politicized prosecutions," particularly targeting former President Bolsonaro. Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced on September 11, 2025, to 27 years and three months in prison for attempting a coup, leading an armed criminal organization, and damaging public property during the January 8, 2023, Brasília riots. The conviction has drawn strong reactions from both nations.
Brazil's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has condemned the U.S. sanctions as an "undue interference" and an "attack on Brazil's sovereignty," with the Brazilian Supreme Court deeming the sanction on de Moraes' wife "unjust." The U.S. administration, led by President Donald Trump, has consistently criticized Bolsonaro's trial, characterizing it as a "witch hunt."
Adding to the diplomatic strain, Brazil's Public Prosecutor's Office has filed charges against Eduardo Bolsonaro, Jair Bolsonaro's son, for allegedly attempting to coerce the judiciary and lobbying for U.S. sanctions against Brazilian officials. The Magnitsky Act, established in 2012, empowers the U.S. to sanction individuals involved in human rights violations and corruption by freezing assets and imposing travel bans. The expansion of these sanctions to include family members underscores the U.S. administration's strategy to exert pressure following the outcomes of Bolsonaro's trial and related legal proceedings in Brazil, further straining bilateral relations.