OFAC Sanctions Brazilian Judge
The Office of Foreign Assets Control this week sanctioned Alexandre de Moraes, a Brazilian Supreme Federal Court judge that it said has ordered "arbitrary pre-trial detentions" and suppressed freedom of expression.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
OFAC said Moraes has investigated, prosecuted and “suppressed” people for speech protected under the U.S. Constitution, “repeatedly subjecting victims to long preventive detentions without bringing charges.” He has detained journalists, targeted opposition politicians -- including former President Jair Bolsonaro -- and issued arrest warrants for people in the U.S. including social media users, the agency said. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the judge has “taken it upon himself to be judge and jury in an unlawful witch hunt against U.S. and Brazilian citizens and companies."
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, a critic of Moraes, welcomed the sanctions. “I applaud the Trump administration for acting to secure American citizens and their companies from unprecedented judicial attacks by Judge de Moraes,” Lee said in an e-mailed statement. “Hopefully, Judge de Moraes reconsiders his use of Brazil’s judiciary as a weapon.”