Eduardo Bolsonaro escalates attack on Moraes and orchestrates US sanctions against the minister's family.

247 - On Tuesday (2), the final phase of the trial of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) and seven other defendants in the coup plot case began. In this context, allies of Bolsonaro and federal deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP) believe that new sanctions from the United States government, led by Donald Trump, may be applied against those close to Minister Alexandre de Moraes, including his wife, Viviane Barci de Moraes, and potentially his children. According to Malu Gaspar, from the newspaper The GlobeBased on Bolsonaro's interlocutors, new retaliations could occur as early as Thursday (4) or during the process at the Supreme Federal Court (STF).

Eduardo Bolsonaro has a meeting scheduled with White House officials this Wednesday (3). In recent days, he and former Jovem Pan presenter Paulo Figueiredo have intensified their approach to the Trump administration, in an attempt to pressure the American administration to expand sanctions against Moraes, including his wife and children. The strategy is to strengthen the argument that the couple's assets are intrinsically linked, and that the only way to prevent Moraes from circumventing US sanctions would be to include Viviane and her children on the list of targets.

Alexandre de Moraes was included on the OFAC (Office of Foreign Assets Control) sanctions list at the end of July. Since then, his international credit cards have been canceled, and there is growing concern that Brazilian banks may follow suit, interrupting financial services linked to the magistrate and potential new targets of Washington. This measure aligns with the goal of Bolsonaro supporters to expand financial restrictions, now also targeting the law firm of Viviane Barci de Moraes. Including Moraes' wife in the sanctions would mean that she, her firm, and even her children would be subject to severe economic restrictions, further hindering their business activities, especially in the areas of corporate law and government relations, where the firm is well-established.

The law firm of Viviane Barci de Moraes, which also includes two of the minister's children, Alexandre and Giuliana, has already been involved in proceedings investigating hostile actions against the minister, such as the incident that occurred at the Rome airport in July 2023. The inclusion of Viviane in the American sanctions has, so far, been delayed, possibly to ensure the escalation of measures against the Supreme Federal Court before other authorities of the Court, such as Gilmar Mendes and Luís Roberto Barroso, are affected.

In a pressure tactic, Bolsonaro's allies aim to use the Magnitsky Act, a United States law that allows sanctions against individuals linked to human rights abuses or corruption, to also target Viviane and her children.

The investigation against Bolsonaro, related to an attempted coup d'état, was used by Trump as justification for imposing tariffs on Brazilian products and sanctions against the minister. In response to the proceedings, the American president described the actions as a "witch hunt" and even requested the immediate termination of the trial, something that was never considered by the Supreme Court. Eduardo Bolsonaro, in turn, advocates for a "broad, general, and unrestricted amnesty" as a condition for easing diplomatic tensions and overturning the tariffs imposed by the United States.