The Brazilian government on Tuesday strongly condemned the U.S. State Department's decision to alter the visa status of Brazil's ambassador to the United States, marking the latest escalation in the ongoing diplomatic spat between the two countries.
The United States has revoked the visa of Brazilian ambassador to the U.S. Maria Luiza Viotti amid a diplomatic dispute, U.S. media reported Tuesday.
According to a senior State Department official quoted by U.S. media, the revocation of visa was in retaliation for Brazil's refusal last month to issue visas to two U.S. State Department officials and its delay in approving President Donald Trump's nominee for ambassador to Brazil.
The State Department official added that the Brazilian ambassador's visa would be restored if the situation was resolved.
The Brazilian government on Tuesday issued a statement condemning decision, calling the reasons cited by the United States "false."
In the statement, the Brazilian government defended its decision to deny entry visas to the two U.S. officials, saying they intended to visit Brazil to question the integrity of the country's electoral system, which it described as an unacceptable attempt to interfere in its internal political affairs.
Regarding the U.S. criticism of the approval process for the new U.S. ambassador, Brazil said the United States had publicly announced its nominee before formally requesting approval, in violation of Article 4 of the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations.
"There is no rule in the Vienna Convention stipulating a deadline for granting agreement," the statement said, adding that the U.S. request remains under review.
The statement also noted that unilateral U.S. sanctions against Brazilian officials, including Supreme Court justices and senior government officials whose U.S. visas were revoked over allegations of political persecution, remain in place, highlighting the ongoing tensions between the two countries.
Brazil slams U.S. revocation of ambassador's visa as diplomatic rift deepens
Global artificial intelligence (AI) governance must pair strict safety guardrails on leading-edge models with equitable access for developing nations to prevent new historical inequalities, United Nations (UN) Development Programme Administrator Alexander De Croo said Thursday.
Speaking to China Media Group in Beijing, De Croo sought to allay fears of widespread job destruction, stressing that AI is designed to augment human capabilities rather than simply eliminate workers.
He noted that managing the technology requires tackling two distinct global challenges, namely preventing high-end models from running out of control, and bridging the tech divide.
"Technology has always replaced certain jobs and this is not a new thing. It has been going on for more than hundreds of years with industrial revolutions and so on. We really live in highly technological times. At this moment, there are more people working than ever. At the moment, technology already plays a very important role. Here, with the artificial intelligence, we of course have a very powerful augmentation of our own intelligence," De Croo said.
He emphasized that the global discussion surrounding AI centers on two key debates, the first being the potential safety risks of leading-edge frontier models, which require strict manufacturer guardrails and international cooperation to prevent systems from running out of control.
"From our perspective, there are two different debates. One debate, and this is the one that we have seen heavily debated over the past months, is the danger of what we would call the frontier models, I mean the most leading-edge models. And it is clear that indeed there is a potential risk of some of those models being, as being said by some of the industry leaders, out of control, having their own mind, having their own priorities. And so it is of course the responsibility of producers to make sure that the necessary guardrails are there to make sure that, you know, it is not something that would go out of control. But, to enable that, you need international cooperation and you need a system," he said.
Addressing the second debate, De Croo underscored the critical need for equitable technology access, noting that many developing nations still lack the AI tools required to boost their development, making capacity building and governance essential.
"There is a second debate, and that second debate is one that actually that Chinese President Xi Jinping put forward three months ago, which is access. I mean, today, too many countries do not have access to the necessary technologies in artificial intelligence to accelerate development. And so that debate on fair access, that debate on diversifying access to technology are based on making sure that countries have the necessary capabilities, the necessary governance capabilities," he said.
De Croo’s comments echo President Xi Jinping’s address at the World AI Conference in Shanghai, where the Chinese leader urged international action to build Global South capacity and prevent a new historical AI divide.
UNDP chief urges global AI safety rules, equitable access for developing nations
UNDP chief urges global AI safety rules, equitable access for developing nations
