The US has lifted sanctions on a Brazilian judge who led investigations into Jair Bolsonaro, days after a bill which would cut the former president’s jail sentence passed a major hurdle.
Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup after he lost the 2022 election, but would see his term cut to less than three years under a move pushed by conservative lawmakers.
President Donald Trump has previously described the investigation into Bolsonaro as a “witch hunt”, and Brazilian Supreme Court Judge Alexandre de Moraes was placed on a US sanctions list in July.
Those sanctions were lifted on Friday as the Trump administration welcomed the prospect of Bolsonaro’s sentence being cut.
The controversial legislative effort to reduce the former Brazilian president’s sentence still needs to be approved by senators after winning the backing of lawmakers in the lower house.
It would then need to be signed into law by Bolsonaro’s rival President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, potentially setting up a tense stand-off.
A senior Trump administration official said continued sanctions against the senior Brazilian judge would have been “inconsistent with US foreign policy interests”.
Writing on X, US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau said: “The US has consistently expressed concern over efforts to use the legal process to weaponize political differences in Brazil, and therefore welcomes the bill passed by the lower house of the Brazilian Congress as a first step towards addressing these abuses.
“Finally we are seeing the beginning of a path to improve our relations.”
Brazil’s Minister of Institutional Relations Gleisi Hoffmann praised the lifting of sanctions against Judge de Moraes as a victory for Brazil and Lula.
The judge had led the investigation into allegations Bolsonaro and his allies plotted a coup after he lost the 2022 election.
In an executive order earlier this year, the White House alleged Judge de Moraes “abused his judicial authority to target political opponents”.
Trump raised tariffs on Brazil in that same order.
There have been signs that tensions between Trump and Lula have been easing in recent weeks, with the US president saying he had a “great” phone call with Lula on trade earlier this month.
