WASHINGTON — A U.S. State Department official has been barred from traveling to Brazil after attempting to visit jailed former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year prison sentence for plotting a coup, Brazilian authorities said Friday.
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Darren Beattie, who had been approved for a visa to attend a critical minerals summit next week, had his visa revoked after Brazil’s Supreme Court ruled that his proposed meeting with Bolsonaro was outside his diplomatic authorization. The ruling was reported by Bloomberg and The Guardian.
Brazil’s government withdrew a visa previously granted to a US official who’d planned to travel to the South American country next week, a day after a judge barred him from visiting former President Jair Bolsonaro during the trip https://t.co/uZaga8eNRq
— Bloomberg (@business) March 13, 2026
Following the decision, current Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva ordered Beattie’s visa to be fully revoked, citing the prior U.S. denial of a visa for Brazilian Health Minister Alexandre Padilha and the revocation of visas for his family members. Lula said, “That American guy who said he was coming here to visit Bolsonaro, he’s been barred from visiting and I have forbidden him from Brazil so long as they don’t free up the visa of my health minister.”
Bolsonaro was convicted for his role in planning a coup after losing the 2022 election to Lula, including the storming of government buildings in January 2023. Brazilian officials stressed that a foreign official visiting a jailed former president in an election year could constitute undue interference in the country’s internal affairs.
Although Beattie’s visa included participation in the minerals summit and meetings with other Brazilian officials, Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira noted that the request for other meetings came only after the proposed visit with Bolsonaro.
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The dispute occurs as Brazil heads into a closely contested presidential election, with Bolsonaro’s son, Flavio Bolsonaro, and Lula currently polling in a dead heat at 41 percent each. The first round of voting is scheduled for October 4, with a runoff expected on October 25 if no candidate secures a majority.
The incident highlights ongoing tensions between the U.S. and Brazil over diplomatic access and the politically sensitive incarceration of the former president.