Democratic lawmakers on Thursday asked President Joe Biden to revoke the visa of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who is in Florida, refusing to allow the United States to serve as a refuge for the former leader.
“We must not allow Mr. Bolsonaro or any other former Brazilian official to take refuge in the United States to escape justice for any possible crime committed during his tenure,” these 41 elected officials, all from the Democratic Party, write in an open letter to the president. Biden posted Thursday.
Ils appellent, par ailleurs, le gouvernement américain à “cooperer pleinement à toute enquête du gouvernement brésilien, si on nous le suede” et à vérifier le statut légal aux États-Unis de l’ancien président, arrivé sur le territoire américain en tantant que head of state.
The elected officials also demand that the Department of Justice investigate a possible “support or financing” of the United States for the violent crimes of January 8, in reference to the invasion and looting that day of three emblematic places of power in Brasilia by supporters of the former president. Bolsonaro.
These events were reminiscent of the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.
A new refuge in Florida
The far-right former president had left Brazil for Florida two days before Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s inauguration on January 1. He is staying at the house of a former Brazilian MMA fighter.
He was admitted to hospital last Sunday for an intestinal “adhesion” and was released Tuesday night.
Her stay in Florida puts the United States in a relatively shameful light, particularly in reference to past hosts for controversial Latin American leaders.
Asked on Wednesday, the head of US diplomacy, Antony Blinken, stated that the United States had not received any request from Brazil regarding Jair Bolsonaro, but that it would process such a request “quickly.”
Joe Biden also invited his Brazilian counterpart Lula to visit him in Washington in early February.
Source: BFM TV
