Rarely since the end of the cold war has the United States interfered so deeply with a Latin American country. On July 9th Donald Trump pledged tariffs of 50% on Brazilian exports, citing a “witch hunt” against Jair Bolsonaro, the far-right former president, who is soon due to stand trial for allegedly plotting a coup, a charge he denies. On July 15th Jamieson Greer, the United States trade representative, started investigating Brazil’s trade practices. On July 18th the US State Department revoked the visas of most Brazilian Supreme Court judges and other officials connected to Mr Bolsonaro’s prosecution. Marco Rubio, the secretary of state, has said he wants to use the Global Magnitsky Act to place sanctions on Alexandre de Moraes, a prominent justice, an action usually reserved for dictators and warlords.
