Latest news with #Jair Bolsonaro
France 24
6 days ago
- Business
- France 24
US President Donald Trump under fire over pedo-criminal Epstein files
02:58 20/07/2025 Astronomer CEO announces resignation after viral kiss cam video at Coldplay concert Americas 19/07/2025 Donald Trump escalates war on the press as journalists face mounting pressure Americas 19/07/2025 New searches in Brazil: Jair Bolsonaro ordered to wear ankle monitor Americas 19/07/2025 Venezuelan migrants detained in the US returned to Caracas after prisoner swap Americas 19/07/2025 US revokes visas of Brazilian judges over Bolsonaro 'witch-hunt' Americas 17/07/2025 Donald Trump lashes out at MAGA base as Epstein row escalates Americas 17/07/2025 Brazil: Whales make waves in Rio de Janeiro Americas 17/07/2025 Why the Jeffrey Epstein case is an obsession for the MAGA world Americas
The Guardian
20-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Rubio moves to strip US visas from eight Brazilian judges in Bolsonaro battle
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has reportedly stripped eight of Brazil's 11 supreme court judges of their US visas as the White House escalates its campaign to help the country's former president Jair Bolsonaro avoid justice over his alleged attempt to seize power with a military coup. Bolsonaro, a far-right populist with ties to Donald Trump's Maga movement, is on trial for allegedly masterminding a murderous plot to cling to power after losing the 2022 election to his leftwing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro is expected to be convicted by the supreme court in the coming weeks and faces a jail sentence of up to 43 years. As the day of judgment nears, Trump has been increasing pressure on the court and President Lula's administration. On 9 July, the US president announced he would impose 50% tariffs on all Brazilian imports as of 1 August, partly as a result of the supposed persecution of his ally. The move triggered an outpouring of nationalist anger in the South American country, with Lula describing it as 'unacceptable blackmail'. On Friday, after federal police raided Bolsonaro's house and fitted him with an electronic tag to stop him absconding, Rubio announced further moves in support of the defendant, who he claimed was the victim of a 'political witch hunt'. Writing on X, Rubio said he had ordered visa revocations for the judge leading the investigation into Bolsonaro, Alexandre de Moraes, as well as 'his allies on the court' and their family members. Rubio did not name his other targets but the Brazilian newspaper O Globo identified them as Luís Roberto Barroso, José Antonio Dias Toffoli, Cristiano Zanin, Flávio Dino, Cármen Lúcia Antunes Rocha, Luiz Edson Fachin and Gilmar Ferreira Mendes. Two other judges who were nominated to the court during Bolsonaro's 2019-23 presidency, André Mendonça and Kassio Nunes Marques, reportedly avoided the sanction, as did a third judge, Luiz Fux. Lula denounced what he called 'another arbitrary and completely groundless measure from the US government'. 'Interference in another country's justice system is unacceptable and offends the basic principles of national sovereignty and respect between nations,' the president said on Saturday, adding: 'I'm certain that no kind of intimidation or threat – from whoever it may be – will compromise the most important mission of our nation's powers and institutions, which is to act permanently to defend and safeguard the democratic rule of law.' The Trump strategist Alex Bruesewitz welcomed Rubio's announcement, calling Bolsonaro's treatment 'sick and wrong'. Bolsonaro's congressman son, Eduardo, thanked Rubio for his decision. 'Thank you very much for this fight in favor of free speech, we do believe in the same values,' tweeted Eduardo, who has been living in the US since February and has reportedly been lobbying officials there over his father's plight. Trump's interventions have appalled millions of Brazilians who hope to see their former leader held responsible for the alleged coup attempt, which culminated in the 8 January riots in Brasília. Lula's institutional relations minister, Gleisi Hoffmann, called the visa cancellations 'an aggressive and petty retaliation' and 'an affront to the Brazilian judiciary and national sovereignty'. Even influential rightwing voices have criticised the US's attempt to meddle in one of the world's most populous democracies by imposing 50% tariffs. On Saturday, the conservative Estado de São Paulo newspaper described Trump's behaviour as 'unacceptable external interference in Brazil's domestic matters'. 'Trump has not only attacked our national sovereignty … [but also] stained the history of diplomatic relations between the two largest democracies in the Americas,' the newspaper's editorial board wrote. While the Bolsonaros have hailed Trump's actions, they also appear to have grasped how the announcement of tariffs has backfired, allowing Lula to pose as a nationalist defender of Brazilian interests and paint the Bolsonaro clan as self-serving 'traitors'. Lula, who had been facing growing public disillusionment and an uphill battle to win re-election next year, has enjoyed a bounce in the polls since Trump launched his trade war, the brunt of which will be borne by coffee producers and cattle ranchers in Bolsonaro-voting regions, such as São Paulo. Celso Rocha de Barros, a political columnist, said he suspected the Bolsonaros had been blindsided by the scale of Trump's attack. 'I think [Bolsonaro] wanted some kind of penalty - something he could use to say: 'Look, Brazil's being punished because of Bolsonaro's persecution. But [the tariffs] went far too far … [they] screwed Bolsonaro's base,' said Rocha de Barros, pointing to their potential impact on agribusiness. On Friday night, Bolsonaro's senator son, Flávio, post on X, calling on Trump to suspend the tariffs and replace them with individual sanctions. Soon after, however, he deleted the post.
The Guardian
19-07-2025
- Politics
- The Guardian
Rubio moves to strip US visas from eight Brazilian judges in Bolsonaro battle
The US secretary of state, Marco Rubio, has reportedly stripped eight of Brazil's 11 supreme court judges of their US visas as the White House escalates its campaign to help the country's former president Jair Bolsonaro avoid justice over his alleged attempt to seize power with a military coup. Bolsonaro, a far-right populist with ties to Donald Trump's Maga movement, is on trial for allegedly masterminding a murderous plot to cling to power after losing the 2022 election to his leftwing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Bolsonaro is expected to be convicted by the supreme court in the coming weeks and faces a jail sentence of up to 43 years. As the day of judgment nears, Trump has been increasing pressure on the court and President Lula's administration. On 9 July, the US president announced he would impose 50% tariffs on all Brazilian imports as of 1 August, partly as a result of the supposed persecution of his ally. The move triggered an outpouring of nationalist anger in the South American country, with Lula describing it as 'unacceptable blackmail'. On Friday, after federal police raided Bolsonaro's house and fitted him with an electronic tag to stop him absconding, Rubio announced further moves in support of the defendant, who he claimed was the victim of a 'political witch hunt'. Writing on X, Rubio said he had ordered visa revocations for the judge leading the investigation into Bolsonaro, Alexandre de Moraes, as well as 'his allies on the court' and their family members. Rubio did not name his other targets but the Brazilian newspaper O Globo identified them as Luís Roberto Barroso, José Antonio Dias Toffoli, Cristiano Zanin, Flávio Dino, Cármen Lúcia Antunes Rocha, Luiz Edson Fachin and Gilmar Ferreira Mendes. Two other judges who were nominated to the court during Bolsonaro's 2019-23 presidency, André Mendonça and Kassio Nunes Marques, reportedly avoided the sanction, as did a third judge, Luiz Fux. The Trump strategist Alex Bruesewitz welcomed Rubio's announcement, calling Bolsonaro's treatment 'sick and wrong' and describing Moraes as 'a corrupt thug'. Bolsonaro's congressman son, Eduardo, thanked Rubio for his decision. 'Thank you very much for this fight in favor of free speech, we do believe in the same values,' tweeted Eduardo, who has been living in the US since February and has reportedly been lobbying officials there over his father's plight. Trump's interventions have appalled millions of Brazilians who hope to see their former leader held responsible for the alleged coup attempt, which culminated in the 8 January riots in Brasília. Lula's institutional relations minister, Gleisi Hoffmann, called the visa cancellations 'an aggressive and petty retaliation' and 'an affront to the Brazilian judiciary and national sovereignty'. Even influential rightwing voices have criticised the US's attempt to meddle in one of the world's most populous democracies by imposing 50% tariffs. On Saturday, the conservative Estado de São Paulo newspaper described Trump's behaviour as 'unacceptable external interference in Brazil's domestic matters'. 'Trump has not only attacked our national sovereignty … [but also] stained the history of diplomatic relations between the two largest democracies in the Americas,' the newspaper's editorial board wrote. While the Bolsonaros have hailed Trump's actions, they also appear to have grasped how the announcement of tariffs has backfired, allowing Lula to pose as a nationalist defender of Brazilian interests and paint the Bolsonaro clan as self-serving 'traitors'. Lula, who had been facing growing public disillusionment and an uphill battle to win re-election next year, has enjoyed a bounce in the polls since Trump launched his trade war, the brunt of which will be borne by coffee producers and cattle ranchers in Bolsonaro-voting regions, such as São Paulo. Celso Rocha de Barros, a political columnist, said he suspected the Bolsonaros had been blindsided by the scale of Trump's attack. 'I think [Bolsonaro] wanted some kind of penalty - something he could use to say: 'Look, Brazil's being punished because of Bolsonaro's persecution. But [the tariffs] went far too far … [they] screwed Bolsonaro's base,' said Rocha de Barros, pointing to their potential impact on agribusiness. On Friday night, Bolsonaro's senator son, Flávio, post on X, calling on Trump to suspend the tariffs and replace them with individual sanctions. Soon after, however, he deleted the post.
Yahoo
19-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's tariff threat pushes Lula's popularity and worsens legal troubles for Brazil's ex-leader
SAO PAULO (AP) — U.S. President Donald Trump may have thought that pressuring Brazil with higher tariffs would help his ally, the country's former President Jair Bolsonaro, but the move apparently backfired. Last week, Donald Trump sent a letter to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva threatening a 50% tariffs and directly linking the decision to Bolsonaro's trial, which he called a 'witch hunt.' 'This trial should end immediately!' Trump wrote Thursday evening in a second letter, this one addressed to Bolsonaro. He added that he had 'strongly voiced' his disapproval through his tariff policy. Rather than backing down, Brazil's Supreme Court escalated the case, worsening Bolsonaro's legal troubles. On Friday morning, federal police raided Bolsonaro's home and political office. The former president was ordered to wear an ankle monitor, banned from using social media, and hit with other restrictions. Meanwhile, President Lula — who was facing higher unpopularity, growing opposition in Congress and increasing risks to his likely reelection bid — seems to have gained politically from the situation. Now the 79-year-old leftist Lula, in office for the third non-consecutive term of his long political career, is seeing renewed acceptance, congressional support against Trump and pleas to run one last time to defend Brazil's sovereignty. Back in the game Lula has appeared more energized in public since Trump's announcement. At a national students assembly Thursday, he wore a blue cap reading 'Sovereign Brazil Unites Us" — a contrast to MAGA's red cap. 'A gringo will not give orders to this president," he told the crowd, and called the tariff hike 'unacceptable blackmail.' The impact on Lula is not a first. Trump's actions targeting other countries have boosted ideological rivals in Canada and Australia instead of strengthening his allies at a local level. Private pollster Atlas said Tuesday that Lula's unpopularity had reversed course after his spat with Trump. Lula's job approval went from at 47.3% in June to 49.7% since the tariffs battle began. The poll of more than 2,800 people was conducted July 11-13, with a margin of error of 2 percentage points. The study also said 62.2% of Brazilians think the higher tariffs are unjustified while 36.8% agree with the measure. Even Bolsonaro's former vice president, Sen. Hamilton Mourão, criticized Trump's move as undue interference in Brazil's politics, though he said he agreed the trial against the far-right leader is biased against him. Social media analytics firm Palver analyzed 20,000 messages about Trump on WhatsApp, Brazil's most widely used communication platform, a day after Trump's announcement. Its analysis said right-wing users dominated viral content, but spontaneous conversations leaned left, mocking Bolsonaro as submissive and defending Brazil's sovereignty. 'Trump has put Lula back in the game,' said Thomas Traumann, an independent political consultant and former spokesman for the Brazilian presidency who only weeks ago argued that Lula had lost his front-runner status in the presidential race as he struggled to deliver on his promises on the economy. 'Trump handed it to Lula on a silver platter,' Traumann said. Business leaders who until recently sided with Bolsonaro are having to court Lula to negotiate with Trump. Agribusiness, Brazil's largest economic sector and a traditional right-wing stronghold, united to criticize the U.S. president's move. Industry groups were quick to denounce the tariffs as politically motivated and lacking any commercial justification. National outrage 'In general, with the major exception of a more radical conservative wing, (Trump's move) generated national outrage for violating Brazil's sovereignty,' lawmaker Arnaldo Jardim, a member of the congressional agricultural caucus, told The Associated Press. Jardim, who pushed for the approval of a reciprocity bill that could be used by Lula if there's no agreement until the Aug. 1 deadline, hardly sides with the president. 'Even among sectors that initially thought this could benefit Bolsonaro, many had to reconsider their positions,' he said. Top congressional leaders who recently helped nix a Lula decree to raise a transactions tax were moving toward a head-on collision with him. After Trump's announcement, they signed a joint statement agreeing with Lula's promise to use the reciprocity law against the U.S. In another change, Brazil's Congress decided to start moving on Lula's plan to give an income tax break to millions of poorer Brazilians. Many politicians said that such initiative was dead after Lula became the first president in three decades to have a decree annulled by lawmakers. Bolsonaro remains on trial At the Supreme Court, Bolsonaro is only getting deeper into trouble as his trial continues. Earlier this week, Brazil's chief prosecutor called for a guilty verdict, accusing the former president of leading an armed criminal organization, attempting to stage a coup and attempting violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, among other charges. The defense will next likely present its case in the coming weeks, after which the panel of Supreme Court justices in the trial will vote on whether to convict or acquit him. The former president also suffered more consequences — the court's latest restrictions on Bolsonaro, including the ankle monitor, are part of a second investigation against one of his sons, Eduardo Bolsonaro, a Brazilian lawmaker who currently lives in the United States and is known for his close ties to Trump. He has been under scrutiny for allegedly working with U.S. authorities to impose sanctions against Brazilian officials. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversees criminal cases against Bolsonaro, said his and his son's actions attempted to pressure the Brazilian judiciary by involving the U.S. The court's decision cited both Trump's letter to Lula and several social media posts by the Bolsonaros in support of sanctions against Brazilian officials and speaking favorably about tariffs. 'A sovereign country like Brazil will always know how to defend its democracy and sovereignty,' de Moraes said. 'The judiciary will not allow any attempt to subject the functioning of the Supreme Court to the scrutiny of another state through hostile acts.' Jair Bolsonaro told journalists in Brasilia, the country's capital, that the ankle monitoring was a 'supreme humiliation.' 'I never thought about leaving Brazil, I never thought about going to an embassy, but the precautionary measures are because of that,' the former president said. In a statement, Eduardo Bolsonaro accused de Moraes of trying to criminalize Trump and the U.S. government. 'Since he has no power over them, he decided to make my father a hostage,' the younger Bolsonaro said of the judge. ___ Follow AP's coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at
News24
18-07-2025
- Politics
- News24
Brazil police search Bolsonaro's home, court orders ankle monitor
Jair Bolsonaro was ordered to wear an ankle monitor and stop using social media amid coup plot charges. Brazilian police searched his home as courts feared he might flee to the US. Donald Trump defended Bolsonaro, calling the case a 'witch hunt' and threatening tariffs on Brazil. Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro on Friday had his home searched by police and was ordered to wear an ankle monitor, adding to legal pressure that US President Donald Trump has tried to end by threatening a steep tariff on Brazilian goods. Lawmakers from Bolsonaro's right-wing Liberal Party said the former president had been ordered to wear an ankle monitor, stop using social media and cease communications with diplomats. They said Bolsonaro was also banned from contacting key allies, including his son Eduardo, a Brazilian congressman who has been lobbying in Washington to help his father. On social media, the lawmaker tied the latest court order to a video his father released on Thursday, thanking Trump for his support. CNN Brasil reported that the court orders targeting Bolsonaro had been motivated by the risk of him fleeing to the United States. Bolsonaro's lawyers expressed 'surprise and indignation' in a statement at what they called 'severe precautionary measures imposed against him,' adding that Bolsonaro has so far complied with court orders. Federal police said in a statement that they had served search warrants and non-specified 'precautionary measures' ordered by the Supreme Court but did not name Bolsonaro, who governed Latin America's largest country from 2019 to 2022. Trump has pressed Brazil to stop a legal case against Bolsonaro, saying that his former ally was the victim of a 'witch hunt.' Bolsonaro, who was friendly with Trump when they were both in office, is on trial before Brazil's Supreme Court on charges of plotting a coup to stop President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office in January 2023. Trump, who last week said he would impose a 50% tariff on Brazilian goods, posted a letter on Truth Social on Thursday that he sent to Bolsonaro. 'I have seen the terrible treatment you are receiving at the hands of an unjust system turned against you. This trial should end immediately!' he wrote.
