Brazil has denied visas to two senior U.S. State Department officials whom the Trump administration planned to send to scrutinize the fairness and integrity of the country’s electoral system before the Oct. 4 presidential vote.

The Brazilian Foreign Ministry confirmed to Bloomberg News that it had denied the visas. The government saw the visit as election interference, according to two Brazilian officials who asked to remain anonymous.

Brazil’s election system has long been seen as the standard-bearer in South America. Reuters and The Washington Post first reported on the visa denials. The Post reported the planned trip Friday, citing officials in both governments who said its intent was to raise questions about the voting system.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is seeking reelection, with polls suggesting his top challenge will come from right-wing candidate Flávio Bolsonaro, whose party officially nominated him Saturday.

The senator is a son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, a Trump ally who is currently on house arrest for plotting a coup following his 2022 election loss to Lula. The elder Bolsonaro also received an eight-year political ban for making false claims about Brazil’s electronic voting system during the race.

Tensions between Trump and Lula have reignited since the U.S. placed 25% tariffs on many Brazilian goods this month, citing unfair trade practices. Lula’s administration has denied the claims while accusing the U.S. of attempting to interfere in Brazil’s affairs.

The leftist leader’s approval rose amid a similar dispute last year, when Trump placed — and later lifted — tariffs on key Brazilian exports in an unsuccessful bid to help Jair Bolsonaro avoid the coup attempt trial. Lula currently leads Flávio Bolsonaro in polls.

⁠The planned U.S. delegation would include Assistant Secretary of State Riley Barnes and ​Samuel Samson, a deputy assistant secretary.

In a statement, the State Department confirmed that Barnes and Samson were planning to travel to Brasilia next week, to meet with “government officials, religious leaders and members of civil society to discuss election integrity, religious freedom and freedom of expression.”

“Any insinuation of a ‘ploy’ to undermine a democratic nation’s election is a baseless lie,” the State Department said. “This was a routine visit.”

Lula’s administration in March revoked a previously approved visa for State Department official Darren Beattie ahead of a trip to Brazil.

The government said then that Beattie had provided false information about his trip and failed to disclose plans to visit Jair Bolsonaro.

(María Paula Mijares Torres contributed to this report.)

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