Brazil says U.S. explanations on espionage case "not enough"

Brazil's Communications Minister Paulo Bernardo said on Wednesday that U.S. State Secretary John Kerry's explanations on the surveillance programs carried out by intelligence agencies in Brazil are insufficient.

"We are not happy with the clarifications provided. We will take the case to international organs, probably the UN," Bernardo said during a Senate hearing.

Bernardo showed dissatisfaction over Kerry's statements on the matter made on Tuesday after his meeting with Brazilian Foreign Minister Antonio Patriota in Brasilia.

Kerry said the surveillance programs were approved by U.S. laws and necessary to protect the U.S. population, adding the programs were adopted after the Sept. 11 attacks in 2001 in order to prevent terror attacks and help other countries as well. And Kerry said that the intelligence programs will be maintained.

Bernardo argued "This surveillance is not just to fight terrorism. It involves matters of industrial, trade and diplomatic espionage."

It is a problem that goes beyond bilateral relations, he said.