On September 29, the United States State Department designated Brazil and South Africa as countries on the human trafficking watch list. The two countries were put on “Tier 2 Watch List,” indicating that they must make more progress in countering human trafficking or suffer American sanctions.
While the report did praise Brazil and South Africa for significant progress in countering that severe type of crime, it found the progress insufficient.
This report was mired in irregularities. It was given three months after Congress’s deadline, as most of the staff responsible for the report were laid off. Unlike previous years, no questions from reporters were received regarding the report.
Trump has clear political incentives to add South Africa and Brazil to the watch list. He has falsely accused South Africa of persecuting its white, European-descendant population, and has allowed South African “refugees” to enter America. Trump interfered in Brazil’s legal system by imposing tariffs and sanctions on the country in response to the conviction of former President Jair Bolsonaro after his supporters attempted to overturn the will of the Brazilian people, just as Trump himself did in 2021.
Author’s note: Two things can be true at once
While Brazil’s President Lula da Silva has remained cozy with Russian dictator Vladimir Putin, and South Africa has engaged in military drills alongside American adversaries Russia and China, Trump’s performative politics and kinship with Bolsonaro, who has publicly denounced Brazilian democracy, is the driving factor behind the politicization of the human trafficking watch list, not any legitimate support of democracy abroad or American interests.
