Washington/Sao Paulo, Jan 12 (EFE). – Pressure is mounting on the US to expel former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is in Florida, after his supporters attacked the tri-power headquarters, although neither Brasilia nor Washington have confirmed that there is an official request.
Bolsonaro is currently in the United States, where he traveled on December 30, two days before the end of his term, and was succeeded by leftist leader Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, whom he has yet to congratulate on his election victory last October.
He had planned to return at the end of January, but he has decided to return to Brazil earlier because of intestinal pains that have returned since the stab wound he sustained in 2018 and which forced him to go to a hospital in Orlando, Bolsonaro himself said to CNN Brazil.
Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers have called on President Joe Biden’s administration to expel Bolsonaro from the US, who they accuse of orchestrating “attacks on democracy” in Brazil, drawing parallels between events in the South American country and the attack on it Capitol Drawn takes place on January 6, 2021.
In a letter to Biden this Thursday, 46 members of the House of Representatives called on their administration to investigate actions Bolsonaro may have taken on US soil to help “the insurgency” in Brazil and revoke any permits required by the US
The legislature assured in its letter that the former Brazilian president entered the United States on an A-1 visa, which is issued to diplomats or government officials.
“Since you are no longer President of Brazil or currently serving as a Brazilian official, we ask that you reassess your status in the country to determine if there is a legal basis for your stay and grant any diplomatic visas you may have revoked.” Officials said congressmen to Biden.
The US government has not clarified the legal status Bolsonaro retains in the country, claiming it cannot release data on private individuals as it is confidential.
However, State Department spokesman Ned Price has warned that people entering the United States on A-1 visas have 30 days to leave the country or request a change of status if they stop serving government officials being.
THERE IS NO REQUEST FOR DELIVERY YET
Sen. Tim Kaine, also a Democrat and chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, told Politico that when the US receives an extradition request, it needs to be followed up.
“I think we have to be receptive when there is a legitimate criminal case and there is an extradition request,” lawmakers told the news portal.
At the moment, neither the US nor Brazil have confirmed that an extradition request has already been filed, although Bolsonaro has several open accounts with the Brazilian judiciary.
Should he emerge, political scientist and professor at Washington’s Georgetown University Michael Shifter assured EFE that the Biden government “must take him very seriously”.
Washington has given assurances that it awaits any request for assistance from the Brazilian authorities in the investigation into Sunday’s attack.
In addition to Bolsonaro, former Attorney General Anderson Torres is also on US soil. An arrest warrant hangs over him for alleged “omission” as the person responsible for Brazil’s security in the coup attempt carried out by thousands of radical Bolsonarists on Sunday.
Torres announced on Tuesday his imminent return to Brazil to make himself available to justice, something he has yet to do.
REPUBLICAN SILENCE
Meanwhile, the Republican Party is silent about the situation in Brazil.
Former President Donald Trump, who was on good terms with Bolsonaro during his tenure and to whom he has been compared, has not commented on the weekend’s events or the Brazilian leader’s presence in Florida.
The 67-year-old far-right leader may face problems with the justice system on his hypothetical return to Brazil, where he faces four open criminal cases during his tenure (2019-2022).
One of them wants to clarify whether he politically and unlawfully interfered in federal police decisions to protect his family, while he is also under investigation for spreading false news about the Covid-19 vaccine and discouraging the use of the mask Time when it was mandatory across the country.
Another case relates to the leaking of secret police documents that he wanted to use to feed his discrediting campaign against the electronic voting system that Brazil has been using since 1996, without being denounced, although without evidence Bolsonaro believes this to be fraudulent.
He is also facing various administrative proceedings in the Superior Electoral Tribunal (TSE) on this electronic ballot box issue, which could ultimately serve as a basis for his possible political disqualification.
On January 1, Bolsonaro lost the privileged jurisdiction he held as head of state.
Under this status, all lawsuits had to go through the Attorney General of the Republic and be tried before the Supreme Court, in addition to the right to be defended by the Attorney General.
Now the ex-governor can be tried in the first instance by a joint judge, although that decision is subject to approval by higher judicial authorities in view of ongoing investigations.
However, in no case has Bolsonaro been formally charged; It only appears as studied, that is, the processes are in the initial stages.
In order for them to proceed, prosecutors would have to file a complaint with the judiciary, which would then decide whether to open a case against the former president. Only in this case could he finally be convicted.