WASHINGTON - The US on Monday imposed sanctions on the wife of the judge who presided over the criminal case of former president Jair Bolsonaro and also yanked the visas of six high-ranking officials, escalating a showdown between the Trump administration and the Brazilian government.

Widening the penalties targeting Brazil's judiciary, US President Donald Trump's administration imposed sanctions on Viviane Barci de Moraes, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, under authorities provided by the Global Magnitsky Act, the US Treasury Department said.

It also imposed sanctions on the Lex Institute, a financial entity controlled by Barci de Moraes and other family members. The US government believes the Lex Institute could serve as a vehicle to evade pre-existing sanctions, a senior administration official said.

Shortly after the new sanctions were made public, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters that additional Brazilian officials could be sanctioned if the administration deems it necessary.

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Brazil's government called the US action an attack on its sovereignty and said it "will not bend to yet another aggression." Moraes issued a statement saying "the illegal and regrettable application" of Magnitsky to his wife violates international law, Brazilian sovereignty and the independence of the judiciary.

Barci de Moraes' law firm did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Moraes presided over the criminal case of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted this month of attempting a coup to stay in power after he lost the 2022 election to current leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. He was sentenced to 27 years in prison.

Bolsonaro's lawyers plan to appeal the conviction, although jurists say their chances of success are remote.

Also on Monday, Brazilian lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro was charged with coercion, in a case linked to the one in which his father was convicted for plotting a coup.