Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said that Darren Beatty was “banned from meeting” Bolsonaro in prison.
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Published March 13, 2026
The Brazilian government has canceled the visa of Darren Beatty, a far-right adviser to US President Donald Trump who was scheduled to visit former President Jair Bolsonaro in his prison cell in Brasilia.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva confirmed on Friday that Beatty’s visa had been revoked. He equated this to the United States extracting visas from Brazilian officials in Washington, D.C.
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Among them was Brazil’s Health Minister Alexandre Pasilla, whose U.S. visa was revoked last year.
“The American man who said he was coming here to visit Jair Bolsonaro has been banned from visiting. He is prohibited from coming to Brazil until the health minister’s visa is lifted,” Lula said at an event in Rio de Janeiro.
Separately, Brazilian officials told AFP and other news agencies that Beatty had lied about the purpose of his visit when applying for a visa.
Bolsonaro, a far-right ally of President Trump, is currently serving a 27-year sentence for his role in a coup plot after Brazil’s 2022 general election.
Friday’s decision signals continued tensions between the Brazilian and U.S. governments, even as President Trump and Lula have warmed up relations.
Last August, President Trump imposed the world’s heaviest tariffs on Brazil in protest of Bolsonaro’s prosecution. He demanded that the country’s judicial system drop the case against Bolsonaro and accused Brazil of persecuting right-wing voices.
Relations between the two leaders improved after President Trump met with Lula at the United Nations General Assembly in September and again at the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) summit in October.
Lula also called in October to request relief from cumulative 50% tariffs on certain Brazilian products. On November 20, President Trump responded by issuing an executive order “changing the scope of tariffs” on Brazilian exports such as beef and coffee.
However, speculation remains high that President Trump may intervene in domestic politics again to boost the hopes of Brazil’s right.
Brazil is scheduled to hold a new presidential election in October, with Lula facing off against Bolsonaro’s eldest son Flavio.
Lawyers for the jailed Bolsonaro asked Brazil’s Supreme Court this week to approve Beatty’s visitation request, but the court rejected the request on Thursday.
Beatty, a strong critic of Lula’s administration, was fired during President Trump’s first term after it was reported that he had attended a white supremacist conference.
Meanwhile, Bolsonaro was admitted to intensive care on Friday, with hospital officials saying the 70-year-old had symptoms of “high fever, low oxygen saturation, sweating and chills” associated with pneumonia.
