Brasilia (AFP) – The United States suspended its consular services in Brazil and Australia closed its embassy this Friday due to "security concerns", two days before the Brazilian presidential elections.
First modification: 02/10/2026 - 15:38
"U.S. citizens in need of emergency assistance during this period should not go to the Embassy, Consulates, or other U.S. diplomatic facilities," the U.S. mission in Brazil said in a statement.
The Australian embassy announced on its side that it will be closed this Friday also due to security "concerns."
Neither of the two delegations gave details about the reasons for the closure or when they will resume service.
The suspension occurs two days before the first round of the presidential elections, in which leftist president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and senator Flávio Bolsonaro, son of former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro (2019-2022), will face each other.
US President Donald Trump said Thursday that he is following the South American giant's elections "very closely."
For his part, Lula has said that his counterpart should not "get involved" in his country's elections.
Jair Bolsonaro, convicted of attempting a coup against Lula at the end of his term, between 2022 and 2023, is an ally of Trump.
On Thursday, the Brazilian Attorney General's Office asked that the prosecutor's office and the police investigate an alleged plan by the United States to finance far-right causes in Brazil reported by the British newspaper The Guardian.
A false bomb alert outside the supreme court headquarters forced police to close several streets in downtown Brasilia on Thursday night. The court is located near the American embassy.
Although the authorities ruled out that there was an explosive in the area, the security of the diplomatic mission was reinforced with a patrol after the incident, AFP confirmed.
© 2026 AFP
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