Brazil Electoral Court confirms U.S. Embassy contact over denied visas

Brazil's Superior Electoral Court (TSE) confirmed it was approached by the U.S. Embassy concerning a planned visit by State Department officials. The embassy sought contact regarding officials who were subsequently denied visas by Brazil's Foreign Ministry (Itamaraty).

According to a TSE statement, the U.S. Embassy made an inquiry to the court's international affairs department but did not disclose the specific purpose or agenda of the officials' intended visit. No meetings were arranged, as the Brazilian judiciary was in recess during July.

This development follows reports by The Washington Post, which cited four U.S. and Brazilian officials stating that President Donald Trump intended to dispatch aides to question the integrity and transparency of Brazil's electoral system. The TSE itself has been actively promoting the security of its electronic voting machines.

In June, TSE President Kassio Nunes Marques met with 25 ambassadors to explain the electronic voting system. The court announced another meeting with ambassadors is scheduled for August 17, with the U.S. diplomatic mission invited. The Lula government and the Itamaraty reportedly raised concerns about the potential instrumentalization of the visit, especially after detecting possible links between attacks on the voting system by presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro and the Trump administration. The visa requests were made on July 20, with Flávio Bolsonaro publicly disseminating false information about the voting machines on July 21, and Itamaraty denying the visas on July 24.

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No próximo dia 17 agosto, um novo encontro com embaixadores será promovido dentro do próprio TSE, e a diplomacia dos EUA será convidada, além de todos os países com representação no Brasil. Na ocasião, novamente o presidente falará sobre o funcionamento da urna eletrônica, patrimônio do povo brasileiro