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Trump
backs US
refuge
for
Brazil’s
Flávio
Bolsonaro
amid
criminal
investigations
Luis
Fernando
Arce -
Latin
America
Tell Us
Worldwide
News
Network
WASHINGTON,
Oct. 28
—
President
Donald
Trump
has
endorsed
allowing
Brazil’s
defeated
right-wing
presidential
candidate,
Flávio
Bolsonaro,
into the
United
States
as the
senator
faces
criminal
investigations
at home,
with the
US
administration
offering
visas to
him and
his
family.
Bolsonaro
arrived
in Miami
on
Wednesday
after
leaving
Brazil
despite
a
Supreme
Court
order
requiring
him to
surrender
his
passports.
“Well, I
would
approve,”
Trump
told
reporters
at Joint
Base
Andrews
when
asked
about
Bolsonaro
coming
to the
United
States.
The
president’s
remarks
followed
confirmation
from a
senior
State
Department
official
that
Washington
would
issue
entry
visas to
Bolsonaro
and his
family.
The
decision
offers
Bolsonaro
an
immediate
refuge,
but US
officials
have not
publicly
specified
the visa
category
or how
long he
and his
family
may
remain.
The
announcement
concerns
permission
to enter
the
country,
rather
than a
publicly
confirmed
grant of
asylum
or
immunity
from
Brazilian
legal
proceedings.
Bolsonaro,
the son
of
former
Brazilian
president
Jair
Bolsonaro,
left
Brazil
after
losing
Sunday’s
presidential
runoff
to
incumbent
Luiz
Inácio
Lula da
Silva.
He had
not
conceded
defeat,
according
to
reporting
by NBC
News.
His
departure
came
after
Supreme
Court
Justice
Alexandre
de
Moraes
ordered
him to
surrender
his
passports
and
remain
in
Brazil
amid
criminal
investigations.
In a
ruling
seen by
Reuters
and
described
by NBC
News,
the
court
cited
the risk
that
Bolsonaro
would
flee and
his
“significant
financial
resources.”
He was
given 24
hours to
hand
over the
documents;
sources
told NBC
News
they
were
subsequently
cancelled
when the
deadline
expired.
Bolsonaro
travelled
with his
wife and
two
daughters,
passing
through
Argentina
before
reaching
the
United
States,
according
to
reports
cited by
Politico.
His
arrival
in South
Florida
on
Wednesday
followed
the
Trump
administration’s
announcement
that the
family
would
receive
visas.
The
Brazilian
senator
faces an
investigation
into
alleged
money
laundering
and
denies
wrongdoing.
The
investigation
and the
prospect
of
prosecution
are
distinct
from a
finding
of
guilt.
Trump
coupled
his
support
for
Bolsonaro’s
entry
with
criticism
of
Brazil’s
election,
suggesting
that the
result
looked
“rigged”
without
presenting
evidence.
He also
said he
had not
taken
sides in
the
contest
and knew
both
Lula and
the
younger
Bolsonaro.
“I know
Flávio a
little
bit,”
Trump
told
reporters,
while
also
referring
to his
relationship
with
Bolsonaro’s
father.
The
intervention
extends
a
politically
sensitive
relationship
between
the
Trump
administration
and the
Bolsonaro
family.
Trump
previously
used
sanctions
and
tariff
threats
in an
unsuccessful
effort
to help
Jair
Bolsonaro
avoid
imprisonment
over a
plot to
remain
in power
after
his
defeat
in
Brazil’s
2022
election.
The
former
Brazilian
president
was
subsequently
sentenced
to 27
years in
prison.
The
immediate
uncertainty
is the
scope of
the
protection
Washington
has
offered.
Although
US
officials
have
confirmed
plans to
admit
Bolsonaro
and his
family,
they
have not
disclosed
the
duration
or
conditions
of their
visas,
leaving
unresolved
how long
the
defeated
candidate
can
remain
outside
Brazil
as the
investigations
proceed.
This
Tell Us
USA News
Network
report
is
produced
in part
by Ai
and can
make
mistakes.
Please
contact
and let
us know
of any
errors
you may
find.
info@tellususa.com
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