The United States has cancelled the diplomatic visa of Brazil’s ambassador to Washington, Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti.
A senior U.S. State Department official announced the decision on August 4.
The official linked the measure to Brazil’s delay in formally approving a U.S. ambassadorial nominee and its rejection of visas for several U.S. diplomats.
The official said the cancellation did not mean Viotti was being expelled from the United States.
He said she could remain in the country without a valid diplomatic visa.
The State Department official said the visa would be restored if Brazil approved Washington’s nominee, restoring what he described as balance in the diplomatic arrangement.
Brazil rejected visa applications last month from officials in the U.S. State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor.
Brazil said those officials had planned a visit intended to cast doubt on and weaken its electoral system before elections scheduled for October.
The Trump administration has alleged that the government of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has restricted conservatives and used judicial processes against them.
Brazil has accused the United States of seeking to expand conservative political influence in Latin America.
Brazil’s government had not issued an immediate response to the visa cancellation at the time described.