Two U.S. State Department officials led a campaign to return the Bolsonaro family to power in Brazil through policy directives and targeted sanctions, according to 10 current and former U.S. officials. The reported efforts by Darren Beattie, a Senior Advisor for Western Hemisphere Affairs, and Ricardo Pita, a Deputy Assistant Secretary, were intended to favor the candidacy of Senator Flavio Bolsonaro against incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
The campaign began after former President Jair Bolsonaro was disqualified from office for a 2022 coup plot and later sentenced to 27 years in prison in September 2025. Beattie and Pita reportedly instructed U.S. diplomats to prioritize the restoration of the elder Bolsonaro before pivoting their support to his son, Flavio. Sources stated that embassy staff were directed not to engage with other conservative contenders who might challenge the younger Bolsonaro.
The State Department officials successfully advocated for several punitive measures against the Brazilian government, including designating the country’s largest gangs, the Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho (CV), as foreign terrorist organizations in May 2026. Additionally, the U.S. imposed Global Magnitsky sanctions against Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes in July 2025, accusing him of violating free speech rights during his investigations into Jair Bolsonaro. The sanctions against Moraes were later removed in December 2025 without official explanation.
For ordinary Brazilians and residents, these measures were felt through shifts in political polling and economic pressure. While intended to weaken the Lula administration, some analysts reported the tariffs and court-related sanctions may have increased President Lula's domestic popularity. In the U.S., the use of the Global Magnitsky Act—a 2016 law designed to punish human-rights abusers—against a sitting Supreme Court justice in a democratic nation set a notable precedent for the application of "free speech diplomacy."
The outcome of this U.S. policy campaign faces a definitive test on Sunday, October 25, 2026, during the presidential runoff between Flavio Bolsonaro and President Lula. President Lula has publicly accused his opponent of coordinating with the Trump administration to undermine Brazilian sovereignty. Following a narrow first-round result earlier in October, Trump described Flavio Bolsonaro's performance as a "big victory." The final results of the runoff will determine whether the preferred candidate of these State Department officials assumes the presidency.