Marcos Degaut (left) shaking hands with Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro. Photo: Marcos Degaut / Twitter
President Bolsonaro officially withdrew this Wednesday the nomination of Brazil’s former Defense Products Secretary Marcos Degaut to an ambassador role in the United Arab Emirates.
The move was anticipated by The Brazilian Report seven days ago.
The nomination came in April, but the Senate never scheduled Mr. Degaut’s confirmation hearing.
Mr. Degaut has developed good relations with the UAE government.
In 2022, the UAE was Brazil’s third-largest destination for arms and ammunition exports, just behind the U.S. and the Philippines. The Brazilian Report revealed in January that many of these weapons are produced by a shady Turkish-owned company in southern Brazil.
Last month, President Bolsonaro said he expects visits from the heads of state of four Arabic countries by the end of the year, including the United Arab Emirates.
Mr. Degaut left his job as Defense Products Secretary yesterday, after a week of vacation. He was replaced by interim secretary Marcos Aurélio Pereira Silva.
The Ministry of Defense and the presidential office did not reply to requests for comment on why the ambassador nomination was withdrawn.
The head of the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee, Kátia Abreu, also did not reply to a request for comment.
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