Brazil refuses visas to US officials who wanted to meet with electoral authorities.

Brazil refused on Friday to issue visas to two US officials who wanted to meet with electoral authorities less than three months before the presidential election, a Brazilian diplomatic source told AFP on Saturday, citing a "risk of political manipulation".

This refusal is a new episode in the tensions between the governments of Donald Trump and his left-wing Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Lula will seek re-election in October against Flavio Bolsonaro, an ally of the US president and nominated on Saturday as the candidate of Brazil's main conservative party, the Liberal Party.

The United States had requested visas on July 20 for the two officials, who were to go on a mission to deal with "freedom of expression related to the elections" with the authorities in charge of the vote, according to the Brazilian source.

But what "attracted the attention" of Brazilian authorities was that the visas were requested almost at the same time as a private meeting on Tuesday between Flavio Bolsonaro and foreign diplomats, during which the right-wing candidate questioned the reliability of Brazil's electronic voting system.

He did so with arguments similar to those which, in 2023, led to the ineligibility of his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022), who was also convicted in 2025 for attempted coup.

The Brazilian consulate consequently refused to grant visas to the American officials, the Brazilian source explained to AFP.

When contacted by AFP, US authorities did not immediately respond.

The Trump administration imposed two rounds of tariffs on Brazilian products in July, citing alleged unfair trade practices by Brazil.

Lula accuses Flavio Bolsonaro of being a "traitor to the homeland" who allegedly encouraged American surtaxes, which the latter denies.

An ally of Jair Bolsonaro during his presidency, Donald Trump has supported right-wing candidates in recent elections in other Latin American countries such as Argentina and Colombia.