BRAZIL has recalled its ambassador to Argentina after the latter’s far-right President Javier Milei insulted Brazilian officials while in their country.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced the decision on Sunday, the day after Mr Milei had participated in an event in Sao Paulo where Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro, a son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, was confirmed as the presidential candidate of his father’s party.

During his speech there, the Argentinan president accused his Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva of being a “thief” and a “delinquent,” among other insults. 

Mr Milei also branded Supreme Federal Court judge Alexandre de Moraes “trash” after he denied the Argentinian president permission to visit Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year sentence under house arrest after being convicted of a coup attempt.

Court president Edson Fachin said Mr Milei’s comments were a “disrespectful reference to a magistrate of the highest court in the country, made on Brazilian soil.”

A Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said ambassador Julio Bitelli had been recalled for consultations following Mr Milei’s statements.

Former Argentinian president Alberto Fernandez posted a video on social media on Sunday exposing Mr Milei’s insults.

“Milei went to Brazil shouting like a madman, demanding to see a coup plotter in jail,” he wrote. “Insulting the president of a sister nation and our main trading partner is unforgivable.”

Lula has not publicly addressed Mr Milei’s remarks, but in a opinion piece published on Sunday in the Washington Post, he insisted that “Brazil’s destiny is determined only by Brazilians without external interference, without subservience.”

Those comments came the day after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied visas to two US State Department officials who sought to travel to Brazil next week. The ministry did not offer an explanation for the refusal.