On 30 July 2025, the U.S. Treasury Department announced sanctions on Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Morales over alleged suppression of freedom of expression in the trial against former President Jair Bolsonaro.

“De Moraes is responsible for an oppressive campaign of censorship, arbitrary detentions that violate human rights, and politicized prosecutions — including against former President Jair Bolsonaro,” U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

The sanction on de Morales over “free speech” concerns is excessive and does not promote peace or democracy globally.  According to PolitiFact, a non-partisan fact checking group, former Trump ally Elon Musk allowed misinformation on voting, disaster relief funds, and immigration to proliferate on X prior to the 2023 election. The spread of misinformation on social media sites can also contribute to global violence, such as the misinformation on Facebook that facilitated ethnic violence in Myanmar.

The Trump Administration itself is no stranger to embroiling itself with concerns regarding free speech and the marketplace of ideas. Several ongoing cases against the government, such as those involving Mahmoud Khalil and the Association of American University Professors, raise serious questions over first amendment violations. According to the Immigration and Human Rights Law review, the Trump Administration is violating Articles 19 and 21 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights – a covenant that the United States is a part of. That said, concerns over judicial overreach in Brazil are not unfounded. Marcus Vinicius Furtado Coelho, a former president of Brazil’s bar association, has said “the responses of the judiciary must be proportional to the attacks and should not be excessive.”

Countries and its citizens in both Brazil and the United States should be mindful about media literacy and exercise caution in preventing democratic backsliding globally – a thing which many scholars are concerned about as noted by the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

The sanctions also appear to be a reflection of Trump’s likeness and affinity for Bolsonaro, who has now been sentenced to 27 years for attempting to overturn Brazil’s election results and stage a coup. Trump himself was also indicted in 2023 on allegations that he tried to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election. The special counsel report found that Trump’s speech incited violence. Trade relations between the United States and Brazil have also been strained recently, particularly in relation to China. According to The Diplomat, Brazil has been more supportive of China than the U.S. over the U.S.-China trade war. Additionally, the U.S. and Brazil’s Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation (ATEC), has not convened since 2016. This does not help matters.

The current actions taking place will strain geopolitical and trade relations between the two countries. Based on how the U.S. Supreme Court may rule on the recent tariff case involving the International Emergency Economic Powers Act and the U.S. Congress’ power of the purse, a great shift in geopolitical and economic relations could take place.