The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) placed sanctions on the Lex Instituto de Estudos Juridicos LTDA (Lex Institute) for its support of Brazilian Supreme Federal Court (STF) Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
“Alexandre de Moraes is responsible for an oppressive campaign of censorship, arbitrary detentions, and politicized prosecutions—including against former President Jair Bolsonaro,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. “Today’s action makes clear that Treasury will continue to target individuals who provide material support to de Moraes as he abuses human rights.”
De Moraes used his position to “authorize arbitrary pre-trial detentions and suppress freedom of expression in Brazil,” the Treasury explained. De Moraes’ wife is also being sanctioned.
The sanctions align with Donald Trump’s order on Addressing Threats to the United States by the Government of Brazil.
“Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes has abused his judicial authority to target political opponents, shield corrupt allies, and suppress dissent, often in coordination with other Brazilian officials,” Trump’s order states. “Justice de Moraes has authorized politically motivated police raids, arrests, and bank account freezes. He has also authorized the confiscation of passports, jailed individuals without trial for social media posts, opened unprecedented criminal investigations, including into United States citizens for their constitutionally protected speech in the United States, and issued secret orders to United States social media companies to censor thousands of posts and de-platform dozens of political critics, including United States persons, for lawful speech on United States soil.”
“The policies, practices, and actions of the Government of Brazil are repugnant to the moral and political values of democratic and free societies and conflict with the policy of the United States to promote democratic governments throughout the world, the principle of free expression and free and fair elections, the rule of law, and respect for human rights,” it declares.
