(Isaac Ribeiro/Creative Commons)

President Barack Obama wanted to emphasize the importance of the relationship between the United States and Brazil, the two largest economies in the Americas, by inviting President Rousseff to the first state visit of his second term. That relationship, which had steadily been improving since President Rousseff took office, now appears to be strained. 

According to an O Globo article, President Rousseff’s plan to postpone her visit began when leaked National Security Agency (NSA) documents revealed that they had spied on her and her aides’ personal communications - include emails, text messages and phone calls - and on a state oil company. These documents, which were based on documents leaked by whistleblower Edward Snowden, infuriated President Rousseff. She stated that if the accusation were proven it would mean the NSA was involved in “industrial espionage”, according to a BBC news article.

According to the Huffington Post, U.S. officials stated that the reason for the NSA’s surveillance was to track possible terrorist activity.

The White House said that intends to investigate the incident further.

President Obama attempted to salvage the visit with a 20-minute phone conversation with President Rousseff on Monday morning, but the Brazilian president had reportedly been planning to cancel the meeting even before the call. She officially decided to postpone her U.S. visit on Tuesday.

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said that President Obama looks forward to welcoming President Rousseff on a later date to be mutually agreed, and until then, all other presidential dialogues will continue normally.

 Reach Executive Producer Miguel Arreola here.