Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has applied to US authorities for a tourist visa to stay in the country for another six months, the Financial Times newspaper reported Monday.
The request, made Friday, comes about two weeks after dozens of Democratic congressmen asked the United States of America (US) government, chaired by Joe Biden, to grant the diplomatic visa or any clearance that must be Jair Bolsonaro. Pull. on American soil.
“I think Florida will be his temporary home away from home. Right now, given his situation [Jair Bolsonaro]I think he needs some stability”said the ex-president’s lawyer, Felipe Alexandre, quoted by the Financial Times.
Bolsonaro is under pressure on several fronts in Brazil, either for his possible responsibility for the attack his supporters carried out on the headquarters of the three powers on the 8th or for irregularities committed during his presidential term.
Bolsonaro is in the state of Florida, where he traveled on December 30, two days before the end of his term and the inauguration of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who succeeded him in the presidential office.
However, his stay in the US has been contested by several US politicians, who are demanding that any action taken on US soil to aid or coordinate the invasion of the buildings of the three Brazilian powers be investigated.
“We must not allow Bolsonaro or any other former Brazilian official to seek refuge in the US to escape justice for crimes they may have committed” in Brazil, congressmen wrote in a letter to Joe Biden’s administration on Jan. 12.
Lawmakers allowed Bolsonaro to enter the US on an A-1 visa, which is granted to diplomats or employees of a foreign government.
“As [Bolsonaro] is no longer the President of Brazil nor is he currently a Brazilian government official, we ask that his situation in the country be reassessed to determine if there is a legal basis for his stay and that he revoke any diplomatic visas he may have had”cried the congressmen.
The US government has yet to comment on Bolsonaro’s legal status in the United States.
However, State Department spokesman Ned Price said this month that people entering the US on an A-1 visa have 30 days to leave the country if they are no longer part of a government.
“If an A visa holder is no longer engaged in official business on behalf of that government, it is up to that visa holder to either leave the U.S. or apply for a change to another immigration status within 30 days”said Price.
Flávio Bolsonaro, senator and eldest son of the former president, said Saturday that there is no estimate for his father’s return to Brazil.
“It could be tomorrow, it could be six months from now, he might never come back. [Mas] he is not afraid because he has no responsibility for what happened in Brazil”he said according to the Financial Times.
Source: DN
