The U.S. Treasury Department’s Office of Foreign Assets Control on 30 July imposed sanctions on Brazilian Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. Treasury alleges that De Moraes used his position to authorise arbitrary pre-trial detentions and suppress freedom of expression. The White House said the judge had also "targeted" U.S. citizens, citing technology entrepreneur Elon Musk, and had issued rulings affecting former President Jair Bolsonaro, who is under investigation for alleged efforts to overturn his 2022 election defeat. The designation freezes any assets De Moraes may hold under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits American individuals and entities from conducting transactions with him. The move, described by U.S. officials as a response to human-rights abuses, marks a sharp escalation in already tense relations between Washington and Brasília.