The U.S. president wrote in a letter on social media that he would be monitoring the trial of the former Brazilian leader.
President Donald Trump amped up the pressure on the Brazilian government on Wednesday and urged it to drop charges against former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, saying that he will be watching the case “closely.”
In a letter directed to Bolsonaro posted on Truth Social on Thursday, Trump said that Bolsonaro has faced “terrible treatment” at the “hands of an unjust system turned against you.”
“I share your commitment to listening to the voice of the people and I am very concerned about the attacks on free speech – both in Brazil and in the United States – coming out of the current government. I have strongly voiced my disapproval both publicly and through our Tariff policy,” he wrote, adding that the trial “should end immediately.”
Bolsonaro responded by releasing a video on X, saying that he had received Trump’s letter and again said that the charges that were filed against him are false. Previously, Bolsonaro has described the trial on X as a “witch hunt,” echoing a term used by Trump when he came to his South American ally’s defense last week.
Also last week, Trump warned that he would impose 50 percent tariffs on all products from Brazil entering the United States, citing the case against Bolsonaro.
Responding to the tariff threat, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva told CNN in an exclusive interview on Thursday that he will not cooperate.
“Brazil is to take care of Brazil and take care of the Brazilian people, and not to take care of the interests of the others,” Lula told the outlet, adding: “Brazil will not accept anything imposed on it. We accept negotiation and not imposition.”
Bolsonaro, who governed between 2019 and 2022, is standing trial before Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court for his role in an alleged coup attempt in January 2023. He is already ineligible for next year’s election. The former president has repeatedly denied the allegations and said he is the target of political persecution.
Bolsonaro has been declared ineligible to run for office until 2030 by Brazil’s electoral court for abuse of power during the 2022 election, when he narrowly lost to Lula.
