Exclusive-CIA chief told Bolsonaro government not to mess with Brazil election, sources say

div classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodivpBy Gabriel Stargardter and Matt Spetalnickp

pRIO DE JANEIROWASHINGTON Reuters – The U.S. Central Intelligence Agency CIA director last year told senior Brazilian officials that President Jair Bolsonaro should stop casting doubt on his countrys voting system ahead of the October election, sources told Reuters.pdivdivdiv classBodysc17zpet90 cdBBJodiv

pThe previously unreported comments by CIA Director William Burns came in an intimate, closeddoor meeting in July, according to two people familiar with the matter, who spoke on condition of anonymity. Burns was, and remains, the most senior U.S. official to meet in Brasilia with Bolsonaros rightwing government since the election of U.S. President Joe Biden.p

pA third person in Washington familiar with the matter confirmed that a delegation led by Burns had told top Bolsonaro aides the president should stop undermining confidence in Brazils voting system. That source was not certain whether the CIA director himself had voiced the message.p

pThe CIA declined to comment. Bolsonaros office did not respond to requests for comment.p

pBurns arrived in Brasilia six months after the Jan. 6 assault on the Capitol following former U.S. President Donald Trumps election loss. p

pBolsonaro, a farright nationalist who idolizes Trump, has echoed the former U.S. leader‘s baseless allegations of fraud in the 2020 U.S. election. He has also cast similar doubts about Brazil’s electronic voting system, calling it liable to fraud, without providing evidence.p

pThat has raised fears among his opponents that Bolsonaro, who is trailing leftist former President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in opinion polls, is sowing doubts so he can follow Trumps example, rejecting any loss in the Oct. 2 vote. p

pOn multiple occasions, Bolsonaro has floated the idea of not accepting the results, and has repeatedly attacked the countrys federal electoral court. Last week, in his latest broadside, Bolsonaro, a former army captain, suggested the military should conduct its own parallel ballot count alongside the court.p

pTwo of the sources warned of a potential institutional crisis if Bolsonaro were to lose by a narrow margin, with scrutiny focused on the role of Brazils armed forces, which ruled the country during a 196485 military government that Bolsonaro celebrates.p

pDuring his unannounced trip, Burns, a career diplomat nominated by Biden last year, met at the presidential palace with Bolsonaro and two senior intelligence aides – national security adviser Augusto Heleno and Alexandre Ramagem, thenhead of Brazilian intelligence agency Abin. Both were Bolsonaro appointees.p

pBurns also dined at the U.S. ambassador‘s residence with Heleno and Bolsonaro’s thenChief of Staff Luiz Eduardo Ramos, both former generals. Brazils military has historically enjoyed close ties with the CIA and other U.S. intelligence services.p

pAt the dinner, according to one of the sources, Heleno and Ramos sought to dismiss the significance of Bolsonaros repeated allegations of voter fraud. In response, the source said, Burns told them that the democratic process was sacred, and that Bolsonaro should not be talking in that way.p

p“Burns was making it clear that elections were not an issue that they should mess with,” said the source, who was not authorized to speak publicly. “It wasnt a lecture, it was a conversation.”p

pBIDEN ENVOYp

pIt is unusual for CIA directors to deliver political messages, the sources said. But Biden has empowered Burns, one of the most experienced U.S. diplomats, to be a lowprofile mouthpiece for the White House.p

pLast month, for example, Burns said in a public address that in November, four months after visiting Brasilia, Biden dispatched him to Moscow “to convey directly to Russian President Vladimir Putin and several of his closest advisers the depths of our concern about his planning for war, and the consequences for Russia” if they proceeded.p

pThe tenor of his comments in Brasilia was reinforced the month after his trip, when U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan visited Bolsonaro and raised similar concerns about undermining trust in elections. However, the Burns delegation‘s message was stronger than Sullivan’s, the Washingtonbased source said, without elaborating.p

p“It is important that Brazilians have confidence in their electoral systems,” a U.S. State Department official said in a statement when asked for comment, adding that the United States is confident of Brazils institutions, including free, fair and transparent elections.p

pOn Saturday, however, in a fresh sign of disquiet among some of Washingtons foreign policy establishment, the most recent U.S. consul in Rio wrote in a Brazilian newspaper that the United States should make it clear to Bolsonaro that any effort to undermine elections would trigger multilateral sanctions.p

pBiden and Bolsonaro have yet to speak. p

pDuring the 2020 U.S. presidential campaign, the two clashed over Bolsonaro‘s environmental record, and he was one of the last world leaders to recognize Biden’s victory over Trump. p

pOfficials in Washington have sought to improve ties with Brasilia in recent weeks, and the presidents of the two largest nations in the Western Hemisphere may soon meet in person if Bolsonaro attends Junes Summit of the Americas in Los Angeles.p

p

pp Writing by Gabriel Stargardter Additional reporting by Jonathan Landay Editing by Brad Haynes and Rosalba OBrienp

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