United States President Donald Trump’s administration has appointed a far-right critic of Brazil’s current government to a role that will influence U.S. policy toward Brazil, a move that suggests relations between the Western Hemisphere’s two largest democracies remain delicate despite a recent rapprochement.
Darren Beattie, who is also acting assistant secretary of state for educational and cultural affairs, was recently tapped for a senior advisory role in charge of overseeing Brazil-related matters, said three sources familiar with the matter, all speaking on condition of anonymity to discuss non-public internal changes.
The appointment was confirmed by a senior US State Department official, who stated that Beattie ‘currently serves as a senior advisor for Brazil Policy’.
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The Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In August, Beattie—fired from his position as a White House speechwriter in 2018 for attending an event attended by white nationalists—sparked a diplomatic incident by describing, in an
Itamaraty summoned the top US diplomat in Brasília to explain the comments.
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Moraes presided over the criminal case against Bolsonaro, convicted of plotting a coup to annul the 2022 presidential election. Bolsonaro is now serving a 27-year prison sentence.
The US had sanctioned Moraes in July, with members of the Trump administration accusing him of authorizing arbitrary preventive detentions and suppressing freedom of expression when presiding over cases related to the 2022 coup plot.
After the announcement of the sanctions against Moraes, Eduardo Bolsonaro, former federal deputy and third son of the former president, thanked Beattie for his efforts in a post on X. Eduardo’s brother, senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ), appears as President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s main competitor in the October presidential election.
Relationship of highs and lows
While Beattie has worked over the past year to combat what the Trump administration considers undue censorship in foreign countries, his new appointment signals a special focus on Brazil going forward.
It also suggests that Washington has not abandoned its concerns about freedom of expression in Brazil, nor has it completely sealed peace with the Lula government.
Two Brazilian government officials said they were not yet aware of Beattie’s appointment, adding that his impact on bilateral relations will depend on the real power he receives domestically. Officials said they were apprehensive, given Beattie’s public statements.
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The relationship between Washington and Brasília cooled after Trump’s inauguration last year. In addition to imposing sanctions on Brazilian officials, the US applied tariffs on Brazilian products, in part due to what Trump called unfair persecution against Bolsonaro.
But ties improved after Lula and Trump met briefly at the UN General Assembly in New York in September, when the US president said they had immediate chemistry. At the end of the year, the Trump administration reduced tariffs on some Brazilian products and suspended sanctions against Moraes.
Lula must go to Washington
The next big test in the Trump-Lula relationship could come in the coming weeks, as Lula has said he plans to visit Washington in March.
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Lula has emerged as a critic of the US operation that captured former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro last month, as well as US efforts to cut off the flow of oil to Cuba.
In addition to his new role focused on Brazil and his work as acting head of the State Department’s Office of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Beattie is president of the US Institute of Peace, a national institution funded by Congress and charged with resolving global conflicts.
In December, the Trump administration renamed the entity the ‘Donald J. Trump Peace Institute,’ although the administration may not have the legal authority to change the name.
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During the 2024 US presidential campaign, Beattie suggested that the US intelligence community could be behind attempts to kill Trump. He was also accused of racism and sexism after stating on social media that ‘competent white men must be in charge if you want things to work’.
