The United States on 30 July imposed financial sanctions on Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, accusing him of serious human-rights abuses that include authorising arbitrary pre-trial detentions and suppressing freedom of expression. The designation, announced by the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control under Executive Order 13818 implementing the Global Magnitsky Act, blocks any property the judge holds in the United States and bars U.S. individuals and companies from doing business with him. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said de Moraes had led “an oppressive campaign of censorship” and politicised prosecutions that “violate human rights.” Secretary of State Marco Rubio added that the judge had issued secret orders compelling social-media platforms to ban accounts and had detained individuals without charge. Washington had already revoked visas for de Moraes and close family members on 18 July. The latest step escalates tensions between the Trump administration and Brazil’s judiciary as the justice presides over cases examining whether former president Jair Bolsonaro sought to overturn his 2022 election defeat. Brazilian Attorney General Jorge Messias condemned the move as an unjustified attack on the country’s sovereignty and said Brasília would respond in “appropriate forums.” The sanctions follow other measures that have strained bilateral ties, including threatened 50 per cent tariffs on Brazilian imports announced earlier in the month.