Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is on trial for his role in a January 8 violent attack on the headquarters of a national corporation in Brasilia, has applied for a six-month visa to stay in the States, his lawyer said Monday.
The far-right former president left Brazil for Florida two days before Lula’s inauguration on Jan. 1, and his current visa is set to expire soon, according to law firm AG Immigration. “We look forward to bringing our customer great satisfaction and desired results,” the company said in a statement.
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Jair Bolsonaro reportedly entered the U.S. on a visa issued to visiting leaders, which expires Tuesday because he is no longer on official business.
Asked about Bolsonaro’s visa application, the State Department responded that this type of information is confidential in the United States. “In this regard, we cannot discuss the details of individual visa application cases,” said a US embassy spokesperson.
January 8 attack
The former Brazilian president had indicated on CNN Antenna in Brazil that he would like to return at the end of January and that he is even considering a return due to health reasons. Jair Bolsonaro was stabbed during a 2018 election campaign. He underwent several surgeries for intestinal obstruction.
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On January 8, thousands of supporters of Jair Bolsonaro, unhappy with Lula da Silva’s victory over the far-right former president in the October 2022 presidential election, stormed and vandalized the presidential palace, Congress and the Supreme Court in Brasilia. .
A few days later, elected Democrats called on Joe Biden to revoke Jair Bolsonaro’s visa, after the United States refused to act as a refuge for the former leader. “Mr. Bolsonaro or any other former Brazilian official should not be allowed to seek asylum in the United States to escape justice for any crime committed during his mandate,” write these 41 elected officials, all from the Democratic Party. An Open Letter to President Biden.
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Anderson Torres, a former Bolsonaro justice minister, was arrested on January 14 as part of an investigation into the robbery while on a flight back from the United States.