US pledges assistance in espionage investigation.

Renata Giraldi
Reporter from Agência Brasil

Brasilia – In a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Antonio Patriota, the United States Ambassador, Thomas Shannon, pledged to organize a team of experts in various sectors related to communications to investigate allegations of espionage against Brazilian citizens by US agencies. Diplomats who attended the meeting informed Agência Brasil that Shannon said he is willing to cooperate with Brazilian authorities.

The U.S. ambassador handed Patriota a one-page document informing him of the creation of the expert group and pledging to collaborate. Previously, the Brazilian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Itamaraty, had sent a note to the U.S. State Department, through the U.S. Embassy, ​​demanding explanations.

In the text, the Brazilian government requests explanations regarding the "alleged espionage allegations." The expression used by the Brazilian authorities was not contested by the Americans.

Patriota and Shannon met yesterday afternoon (9) at the Itamaraty building. Before that, the chancellor met with President Dilma Rousseff. On Sunday (7), when the espionage allegations came to light, the US ambassador spoke with the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Eduardo dos Santos, at the Brazilian's home in Brasília.

Reports published in the newspaper O Globo indicate that, through access to data obtained by American Edward Snowden, who worked for a service provider for the United States National Security Agency (NSA), there are indications that Brazilian citizens were monitored.

The reports also show that there was a kind of NSA office in partnership with the US National Intelligence Agency (CIA) in Brasília. The US ambassador to Brazil denied the veracity of the information, but did not elaborate.

Edited by: Juliana Andrade