SAO PAULO, Sept 22 (NNN-CMA) – Brazil said that, the United States barred Brazilian Health Minister, Alexandre Padilha, from attending a Pan American Health Organisation meeting in Washington by restricting his visa.
Padilha received a visa to join Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva at the UN General Assembly in New York next week, but it limits him to a small perimeter around the UN headquarters and his hotel, preventing him from travelling to Washington.
Calling the restrictions “unacceptable,” Padilha said, he would remain in Brazil. The Health Ministry described the move as arbitrary and said Brazil’s participation in the meeting is vital to a regional vaccine initiative with Argentina and Mexico.
The United States has recently imposed sanctions on Brazilian Supreme Court justices and raised tariffs on Brazilian goods, moves tied to former President Jair Bolsonaro’s conviction for attempting a coup.– NNN-CMA
