Maria Luiza Ribeiro Viotti's visa cancellation comes after the Brazilian government denied visas to two US State Department officials who wanted to visit Brazil last month. Brazil's President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva accused the officials of wanting to "meddle" in Brazil's elections, an allegation the US called "baseless". The US official said the decision did not mean Brazil's ambassador was being expelled from the US. A state department spokesperson called it a "reciprocal action". Two state department officials were due in Brazil in late July for what they said was a visit about freedom of expression and religion and election integrity.