What they do to us, we will do to them, says Lula about reciprocity with the USA

In an act of reciprocity, an American immigration agent who worked in Brasília had his diplomatic credentials withdrawn this Wednesday (22). The measure was a response to the departure from the USA of the Federal Police delegate, Marcelo Ivo de Carvalho, determined by the country’s Office for Western Hemisphere Affairs.

The determination was announced by the director general of the Federal Police, Andrei Rodrigues. In an interview with GloboNews, he explained: “I regretfully withdrew the credentials of a US server due to the principle of reciprocity”.

The removal of credentials means that the agent loses access to the unit in which he worked and to the databases used for cooperation between the US and Brazilian police — the equivalent of what happened with Carvalho.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva congratulated Rodrigues on the measure and declared: “whatever they do to us, we will do to them, hoping that they are willing to talk again and things return to normal”, said Lula this Wednesday (22).

Find out more: Lula defends reciprocity in case of “American abuse” against PF delegate

The position adopted by Brazil takes into account autonomy and equality of rights and duties within the scope of the policy adopted in relation to other countries, representing a sign of pride in the face of the impositions of the Donald Trump government, seen as political-ideological acts.

The measure is an outcome of the case involving the arrest of former federal deputy Alexandre Ramagem (PL-RJ) in Orlando, Florida, last week. The operation that made it possible to arrest the fugitive scammer had the participation of police chief Marcelo Ivo de Carvalho.

In justifying the decision to ask the Brazilian agent to leave, the US Office for Western Hemisphere Affairs argued that “no foreigner can manipulate our immigration system to circumvent formal extradition requests and extend political persecution into United States territory”.

In the same interview cited, Andrei Rodrigues explained that “there is not the slightest shadow of doubt that this PF participation is based on international cooperation, on the agreements we have with the United States. There are more than a dozen agreements that allow our police officers to work abroad.”