Trump tells Brazil to stop 'witch hunt' against Bolsonaro

US President Donald Trump has urged Brazilian authorities to extremity their prosecution of the country's erstwhile President Jair Bolsonaro, accusing them of carrying retired a "WITCH HUNT".

Bolsonaro, who governed Brazil betwixt 2019 and 2022, is lasting proceedings for allegedly attempting a coup against existent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The erstwhile person has denied engagement successful immoderate alleged plot.

In a societal media post, Trump said Bolsonaro was "not blameworthy of anything, but having fought for THE PEOPLE" and told prosecutors to "LEAVE BOLSONARO ALONE!"

President Lula said Brazil is simply a sovereign state that "won't judge interference oregon acquisition from anyone."

"No 1 is supra the law. Especially those that endanger state and the regularisation of law," helium wrote successful a station connected X.

In his earlier station connected Truth Social, Trump praised Bolsonaro arsenic a "strong leader" who "truly loved his country".

The US president compared Bolsonaro's prosecution to the ineligible cases helium himself faced betwixt his 2 statesmanlike terms.

"This is thing more, oregon less, than an onslaught connected a Political Opponent - Something I cognize overmuch about! It happened to me, times 10," Trump said.

Bolsonaro thanked Trump for his comments, describing the lawsuit against him arsenic "clear governmental persecution" successful a societal media post.

Responding to Trump's remarks, Minister of Institutional Affairs Gleisi Hoffmann said: "The clip erstwhile Brazil was subservient to the US was the clip of Bolsonaro."

"The US president should instrumentality attraction of his ain problems, which are not few, and respect the sovereignty of Brazil and our judiciary," she added.

The backmost and 4th comes arsenic Lula hosted representatives from China, Russia and different nations astatine a Brics acme successful Rio de Janeiro.

Trump had earlier threatened to levy further tariffs against countries aligned with what helium called the bloc's "anti-American" policies.

Trump and Bolsonaro enjoyed a affable narration erstwhile their presidencies overlapped, with the brace gathering astatine the White House successful 2019.

Both men subsequently mislaid statesmanlike elections and some refused to publically admit defeat.

A week aft Lula's inauguration successful January 2023, thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed authorities buildings successful the capital, Brasilia, successful what national investigators accidental was an attempted coup.

Bolsonaro was successful the United States astatine the clip and has ever denied immoderate links to the rioters.

He has been barred from moving for nationalist bureau until 2030 for falsely claiming Brazil's voting strategy was susceptible to fraud, but helium has said helium intends to combat that prohibition and tally for a 2nd word successful 2026.

Speaking successful tribunal for the archetypal clip past month, Bolsonaro said a coup was an "abominable thing". The 70-year-old could look decades successful situation if convicted.