The administration of President of the United States, Donald Trump, named a far-right critic from the current Brazilian government to a role that will shape U.S. policy toward Brazil, a move that suggests the relationship between the two largest democracies in the Western Hemisphere remains delicate despite a recent rapprochement.
Darren Beattie, who also serves as Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Educational and Cultural Affairs, was recently chosen for a senior-level role as an advisor in charge of overseeing Brazil-related issues, three sources familiar with the matter said, all speaking on background to discuss internal non-public changes.
The appointment was confirmed by a senior U.S. State Department official, who stated that Beattie ‘currently serves as Senior Advisor for Brazil Policy’.
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The Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not respond immediately to a request for comment.
In August, Beattie — who was dismissed from his White House speechwriter post in 2018 for taking part in an event frequented by white nationalists — triggered a diplomatic incident by describing, in a post on X, the minister of the Supreme Federal Court Alexandre de Moraes as ‘the principal architect of the censorship and persecution complex directed at (the former Brazilian president Jair) Bolsonaro’.
The Itamaraty summoned the top U.S. diplomat in Brasília to explain the comments.
Moraes presided over the criminal proceedings against Bolsonaro, convicted of plotting a coup to overturn the 2022 presidential election. Bolsonaro is now serving a 27-year prison sentence.
The U.S. had sanctioned Moraes in July, with members of the Trump administration accusing him of authorizing arbitrary pretrial detentions and of suppressing freedom of expression by presiding over cases related to the 2022 coup plot.
After the sanctions against Moraes were announced, Eduardo Bolsonaro, the former federal deputy and the ex-president’s third son, thanked Beattie for his efforts in a post on X. Eduardo’s brother, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro (PL-RJ), appears as Lula da Silva’s main rival in the October presidential election.
Ups and Downs in the Relationship
Although Beattie had worked last year to counter what the Trump administration views as improper 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 fully 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 internally. The officials said they were wary, given Beattie’s public statements.
The relationship between Washington and Brasília cooled after Trump’s inauguration last year. In addition to sanctioning Brazilian authorities, the U.S. imposed tariffs on Brazilian goods, partly due to what Trump described as unfair persecution against Bolsonaro.
But ties improved after Lula and Trump briefly met at the United Nations General Assembly in New York in September, when the U.S. president said the two of them had immediate chemistry. By the end of the year, the Trump administration reduced tariffs on some Brazilian products and suspended sanctions against Moraes.
Lula to Visit Washington
The next major test in the Trump-Lula relationship could come in the coming weeks, as Lula has stated that he plans to visit Washington in March.
Lula has stood out as a critic of the U.S. operation that captured former Venezuelan leader Nicolás Maduro last month, as well as of the United States’ efforts to cut the flow of oil to Cuba.
In addition to his new Brazil-focused role and his work as the interim head of the State Department’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs, Beattie is the president of the U.S. Institute of Peace, a Congress-funded national institution tasked with working on the resolution of global conflicts.
In December, the Trump administration renamed the entity the Donald J. Trump Institute of Peace, though the government may not have the legal authority to change the name.
During the 2024 U.S. presidential campaign, Beattie suggested that the American intelligence community might be behind attempts to kill Trump. He was also accused of racism and sexism after posting on social media that ‘competent white men should be in charge if you want things to run smoothly’.
