Brazil's president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has defended the trial which saw his predecessor in office, Jair Bolsonaro, sentenced to more than 27 years in prison for plotting a coup.
In an opinion piece published in the New York Times, Lula dismissed the description by US President Donald Trump of the trial as a witch hunt, saying that it was a historic decision which safeguards our institutions and the democratic rule of law.
The Brazilian leader said he had written the essay to establish an open and frank dialogue with US President Donald Trump, who has imposed 50% tariffs on Brazilian imports.
Lula called the tariff hike not only misguided but illogical.
Relations have been tense between the US and Brazil in recent months, starkly contrasting with the times when Trump's counterpart in Brazil was Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro often expressed admiration for Trump, who had hosted him at his Mar-a-Lago resort in 2020.
Lula, a left-wing leader known for his forthrightness, did not hold back in his New York Times editorial.
He stated that over the past 15 years, the US had accumulated a surplus of $410bn (£302bn) in bilateral trade in goods and services, indicating that the decision to impose the tariffs could only be political.
The US government is using tariffs and the Magnitsky Act to seek impunity for former President Jair Bolsonaro, Lula wrote, referring to sanctions imposed by the US on the Supreme Court justice who led Bolsonaro's trial.
The trial concluded on Thursday when four out of the five Supreme Court justices on the panel found Bolsonaro guilty of all charges he faced, leading to his sentence of 27 years and 3 months in prison, which his lawyers plan to appeal.
Trump found the verdict very surprising, and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio announced that the US would respond accordingly to this witch hunt.
In his New York Times piece, Lula emphasized that the trial was not a 'witch hunt'.
He reiterated that the judgment was carried out in accordance with Brazil's 1988 Constitution, enacted after a long struggle against military dictatorship.
Lula also dismissed Trump administration accusations that Brazil's justice system targeted US tech firms, asserting that Brazilian courts were right to regulate the internet without unfair treatment of American firms.
He concluded his essay by addressing Trump directly, stating that Brazil is open to negotiating anything that can bring mutual benefits, but firmly warned that Brazil's democracy and sovereignty are not on the table.
