U.S. Lifts Sanctions on Brazil’s Justice Alexandre de Moraes

Overview

• OFAC removed Alexandre de Moraes, his wife Viviane Barci de Moraes, and the Lex Institute from the Global Magnitsky sanctions list on Friday.
• The judge was designated in July over alleged arbitrary detentions and restrictions on expression while overseeing cases tied to Jair Bolsonaro.
• A senior U.S. official said the continued designation was inconsistent with U.S. foreign policy interests.
• The move tracks recent trade and diplomatic de-escalation as Trump and Lula held talks and the U.S. eased portions of steep tariffs last month.
• De Moraes welcomed the decision, Brazil’s government cast it as a win for its institutions, and Eduardo Bolsonaro said he received the news with regret as a lower-house bill to reduce Bolsonaro’s prison regime advances.