Brazil’s Foreign Ministry on Wednesday summoned the United States’ chargé d’affaires in Brasília, Gabriel Escobar, to explain an embassy statement that echoed President Donald Trump’s claim that former leader Jair Bolsonaro is the target of political persecution. The embassy note, issued earlier in Portuguese, called the prosecution of Bolsonaro and his allies “shameful” and said Washington was “closely monitoring the situation”, adding that it “reinforces President Trump’s declaration.” Brasilia immediately labelled the remarks an “undue and unacceptable interference” in domestic affairs. During a roughly 40-minute meeting at the Itamaraty palace, Secretary for Europe and North America Maria Luisa Escorel delivered a formal protest and warned that similar interventions could damage bilateral relations, according to people briefed on the talks. Bolsonaro faces an impending Supreme Federal Court trial on allegations he tried to overturn the 2022 election that brought President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva back to power. Trump has described the case as a “witch hunt”, a position now publicly echoed by the U.S. mission. The diplomatic flare-up comes amid broader frictions after Trump threatened to impose tariffs of up to 50% on Brazilian imports starting 1 August, intensifying pressure on relations between the hemisphere’s two largest economies.