Trump administration lifts sanctions against controversial Brazilian judge Alexandre de Moraes

(AFP) On Friday, the Department of the Treasury lifted sanctions against Brazilian Supreme Court judge Alexandre de Moraes, rapporteur in the coup trial of former president Jair Bolsonaro.

The sanctions were part of a series of punitive actions taken against Brazil by President Donald Trump's administration, an ally of Bolsonaro, who called the trial a "witch hunt."

Moraes was sanctioned in July and Washington included his wife, Viviane Barci de Moraes, a few months later.

The sanctions against the couple were lifted after efforts to repair diplomatic ties between Brazil and the United States, a blow to Bolsonaro and his family who had lobbied intensely for the measures.

A senior Trump administration official told AFP that "continuing the designation is inconsistent with U.S. foreign policy interests."

After months of animosity, Trump and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva held their first official meeting in October in Malaysia, sparking an intense round of negotiations between diplomats.

As a result, Trump last month exempted key Brazilian exports from a 40% tariff he had imposed in response to the lawsuit.

U.S.-Brazil ties had deteriorated even before Bolsonaro's trial, following court decisions by Moraes to regulate social media, including temporarily blocking Elon Musk's X platform and user accounts popular among conservative voices.

In imposing the sanctions, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Moraes had "arrogated to himself the role of judge and jury in an illegal witch hunt against U.S. and Brazilian citizens and companies."

Bolsonaro has been serving a 27-year sentence since November after being convicted of a plot to prevent Lula from taking office after the 2022 elections.

His son Eduardo, a federal lawmaker, took up residence in the United States earlier this year after months of traveling back and forth from Brazil to lobby for sanctions against judicial officials.

In September, he was charged with the crime of "coercion" for his alleged efforts to influence the outcome of the coup trial against his father.

In a statement on social media, Eduardo said the decision to lift sanctions against Moraes was received "with regret."

He noted that "the lack of internal cohesion and insufficient support for externally led initiatives contributed to the aggravation of the current situation."

"We are grateful for the support President Trump demonstrated along the way and for the attention he devoted to the serious crisis of freedoms plaguing Brazil."

On Friday, a senior Trump administration official welcomed the approval of a bill by Brazil's lower house, dominated by Bolsonaro supporters, that could significantly reduce the former president's prison sentence.