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.
The prosecution is also seeking convictions for several close allies of Bolsonaro, including his running mate during the 2022 election and former defense minister, Walter Braga Netto, ex-Justice Minister Anderson Torres, and his aide-de-camp, Mauro Cid.
His son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, relocated to the United States in March and has said that he would work to push for sanctions against Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who is leading several investigations into his father’s actions.
The open letter from Trump comes as Bolsonaro has been ordered to wear an ankle monitor, his press office said on Friday. Local media reported that Bolsonaro is also barred from using social media or contacting other individuals under investigation by the Supreme Federal Court, including his son.
Trump had hosted Bolsonaro at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida when both were in office in 2020.
Trump has often compared Bolsonaro’s legal situation to his own.
On Tuesday, Trump told reporters at the White House that the former Brazilian leader is a “good man” and is “not a dishonest man.”
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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