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
Thailand's rural tradition of elephant stewardship is rapidly vanishing as livelihoods change and younger people pursue opportunities elsewhere, threatening centuries of irreplaceable elephant-care knowledge.
For generations, mahouts in the region have passed on their tradition of closely bonding with the elephants they care for. Taweesuk Lapsan is one of a dwindling number of mahouts who diligently carry on the practice.
Long before the sun rises over the fields, he was already at work, gathering bundles of food for an animal that had been part of his family for generations.
"We've had elephants since our grandparents' and great-grandparents' generations. We've been around elephants our whole lives, so we have a strong connection and experience in raising them. That's how we've been able to live with them like this," the mahout said.
Caring for his elephant was not merely a job, but an inherited way of life. Years of daily coexistence forged an intimate bond defined by an intuitive understanding of subtle movements, sounds, and hesitations that take a lifetime to master.
"We live together like this. It's like a family. We're like family; we always go through things together. Until we breathe our last, it just depends on who lives longer," said Taweesuk.
Mahouts and elephants have been woven into parts of Thailand's cultural landscape, from rural livelihoods and traditional practices. However, the tradition has been upended by the collapse of the commercial logging industry and the rapid expansion of tourism.
As fewer young people follow in their families' footsteps, conservationists warned that an intricate system of animal care, refined over centuries, faces gradual extinction.
"When a mahout disappears, they are replaced by people who simply come in to take care of the elephants, essentially, elephant keepers. There are differences in terms of the bond between the keeper and the elephant, the cultural aspects, and the passing down of knowledge and traditions from one generation to the next. So we are concerned about the quality," said Parntep Ratanakorn, Secretary General of the Asian Elephant Foundation of Thailand.
Taweesuk said that his daughters may choose paths far removed from the stables, a decision he fully respects. As the practice fades, experts warn the loss extends far beyond a vanishing cultural heritage, threatening the daily welfare safety nets upon which captive elephants rely.
Thailand's centuries-old elephant care tradition face extinction as livelihoods change
