Brazil blocks visas for 2 US officials before October election
What's new: Brazilian officials viewed the planned trip as an effort to undermine confidence in the vote Lula will contest against Flavio Bolsonaro.
Brazil denied visas for two Trump administration officials who planned to travel to the country and question the integrity of its electoral system ahead of the October presidential election, according to Brazilian officials cited by Reuters. The rejected delegation was set to include Riley M. Barnes of the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labour and deputy assistant secretary Samuel Samson. Brazilian officials said the visas were denied on July 24 and saw the proposed visit as an attempt by Washington to shape the election. President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva is set to face Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, an ally of President Donald Trump, in the October contest.