Rubio vows US response following conviction of Brazil’s Bolsonaro

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By Jasper Ward and Andrea Shalal

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Thursday said the United States would respond, without specifying how, after former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was convicted of plotting a coup to remain in power after losing the 2022 election.

“The political persecutions by sanctioned human rights abuser Alexandre de Moraes continue, as he and others on Brazil’s supreme court have unjustly ruled to imprison former President Jair Bolsonaro,” Rubio wrote on X.

“The United States will respond accordingly to this witch hunt,” he said.

Brazil’s Foreign Ministry called Rubio’s comment a threat that “attacks Brazilian authority and ignores the facts and the compelling evidence in the records.” The ministry said Brazilian democracy would not be intimidated by the United States.

Bolsonaro, who had close ties to U.S. President Donald Trump during his first term in the White House, became the first former president in Brazilian history to be convicted for attacking democracy after a majority of five justices on Brazil’s Supreme Court voted to convict him on Thursday. He was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison.

“Well, I watched that trial. I know him pretty well–foreign leader. I thought he was a good president of Brazil, and it’s very surprising that could happen very much like they tried to do with me, but they didn’t get away with it at all,” Trump told reporters when asked about Bolsonaro being found guilty and if that means additional sanctions.

“But I can always say this: I knew him as president of Brazil. He was a good man, and I don’t see that happening.”

Trump, who also faced a variety of criminal charges and ultimately became the first former U.S. president convicted of a crime last year, has criticized the Brazilian judicial system and threatened tariffs on the South American country for its persecution of Bolsonaro.

In July, he imposed 50% tariffs on most Brazilian goods to fight what he has called a “witch hunt” against Bolsonaro. He later exempted some Brazilian exports, including passenger vehicles and a large number of parts and components used in civil aircraft.

That same month, the U.S. Treasury Department sanctioned Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who presided over Bolsonaro’s criminal case, accusing him of authorizing arbitrary pre-trial detentions and suppressing freedom of expression.

(Reporting by Jasper Ward and Andrea Shalal in Washington; Editing by Bhargav Acharya and Lisa Shumaker)