World
ESTADOS UNIDOS Lula campaign asks Brazil’s electoral court to add US consular shutdown to foreign interference probe
The request came after the US embassy and consulates suspended in-person services in Brazil. O Globo also reported that federal police carried out raids over an alleged plan targeting the diplomatic mission.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s re-election campaign asked Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court to fold the United States’ decision to suspend in-person consular services in the country into an ongoing investigation into alleged foreign interference in the Brazilian election.
According to O Globo, the move was announced by the US diplomatic mission on Thursday night, two days before the first round of voting, and was justified on security grounds. In its filing, the campaign argued that the episode should be examined in the context of alleged foreign interference in the electoral process and said it cast instability over the election environment.
O Globo reported that the filing also tied the episode to alleged actions by the US government and mentioned Flávio Bolsonaro and Eduardo Bolsonaro. It also referred to a letter from US senators Jeanne Shaheen, Tim Kaine and Peter Welch to Secretary of State Marco Rubio warning Donald Trump’s administration against interference in Brazil’s October 4 election.
The newspaper said the US embassy in Brasília and the country’s consulates across Brazil suspended in-person services on Friday. The official notice did not specify which consular services were affected or whether visa and passport processing would continue.
According to the same report, the Australian embassy in Brasília also said it would remain closed on Friday for security reasons. O Globo said there were no signs of a threat specifically aimed at the Australian mission and that the closure was based on the step taken by the United States.
At the same time, Brazil’s Federal Police carried out two search-and-seizure warrants in an investigation into an alleged plan against the US Embassy in Brazil, O Globo reported. The raids took place in São Paulo and Águas Lindas, in Goiás state. Police said the alleged planning could have put US diplomatic representations at risk, although so far they have found no elements confirming the initially flagged threats.
O Globo added that the investigation is under seal, includes cooperation from foreign intelligence agencies, and led to the seizure of mobile phones and computers from two suspects for forensic analysis. Federal Police also said the targets were identified after posting comments on platforms and social networks, and that no links to criminal organizations had been found.
Sources
About this piece. Written by El Notero with AI assistance, from reporting published by the outlet cited above. El Notero did no original reporting on this story.
