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The US Department of the Treasury has lifted sanctions imposed on the Brazilian supreme court justice who oversaw the conviction of the former president Jair Bolsonaro.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes had been under Global Magnitsky sanctions, which target individuals accused of human rights abuses, since July. His wife Viviane Barci de Moraes – who was added the sanctions list in September – was also removed from the register on Friday.
The move had been repeatedly requested by Brazil’s president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, in negotiations with Donald Trump to roll back the 50% tariffs on Brazilian imports.
The decision is a major setback for Bolsonaro and his congressman son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, who left his post in Brazil to lobby in Washington for punitive measures over what he called a “persecution” of his father.
Trump imposed the punishment shortly after imposing tariffs on Brazil, justifying it as a response to what he claimed was a “witch-hunt” against Bolsonaro. Eduardo Bolsonaro has alleged that he influenced Trump’s decision.
Moraes presided over the trial hearing in September when Bolsonaro was sentenced to 27 years in prison for attempting to overturn Brazil’s 2022 election. Days later, the Magnitsky sanctions were extended to the justice’s wife.
Bolsonaro’s supporters had hoped for further retaliation against Brazil, but what followed was an unexpected rapprochement between Trump and Lula.
The US president first praised his Brazilian counterpart during the UN general assembly; the two then exchanged calls, held their first in-person meeting, and, in November, Trump removed most of the tariffs.
With the sanctions lifted from Moraes and his wife, Eduardo Bolsonaro posted on social media that he “received with regret” the news, while thanking Trump “for the support demonstrated throughout this process and for the attention he gave to the serious crisis of freedoms affecting Brazil”.
He added that he will continue “working firmly and resolutely to find a path that allows for the liberation of our country, for as long as necessary and despite adverse circumstances. May God bless America, and may He have mercy on the Brazilian people.”
Bolsonaro is already serving his sentence in a special cell at the Federal Police headquarters in Brasília.
This week, the lower house approved a law that could reduce his time in a closed regime to just over two years.
The bill – which still falls short of the full amnesty sought by the far-right leader and his sons – must still pass the senate, where there is also apparent support, before going to Lula; any veto by him would likely be overturned.
