Brazil slams U.S. revocation of ambassador's visa as diplomatic rift deepens

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

The Republic of Korea (ROK) on Tuesday protested Japan's continued territorial claims to the islets lying halfway between the two countries, called Dokdo by the ROK and Takeshima by Japan.

The ROK foreign ministry said in a statement that the government strongly protests the Japanese government's repetition of unjust sovereignty claims over Dokdo, which is clearly an integral part of the ROK territory historically, geographically and under international law.

The ministry urged Japan to immediately retract its territorial claims, which were made through Japan's 2026 defense white paper released earlier in the day.

The statement noted that the ROK makes it clear once again that any claims by the Japanese government over Dokdo neither have nor will have any impact on ROK's sovereignty over Dokdo, saying that the ROK will firmly respond to any provocation by Japan over Dokdo.

The foreign ministry reportedly planned to summon a senior official from the Japanese embassy in Seoul to deliver a formal complaint.

Since 2005, Japan has laid territorial claims to the rocky outcrops every year in its defense white paper.

The ROK restored its sovereignty over the islets following the Korean Peninsula's liberation from the 1910-1945 Japanese colonial rule. The ROK has since been in effective control of Dokdo, with a small police detachment deployed.

The ROK sees Japan's territorial claims to the islets as a denial of colonial history.

ROK protests Japan's continued territorial claims to disputed islets