President Trump allows Flávio Bolsonaro to enter the US — Buenos Aires Times

US President Donald Trump has allowed defeated right-wing Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro and his family to enter the United States. The US issued them visas after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s victory in last weekend’s election, Buenos Aires Times reports.

Trump said he agreed to Bolsonaro’s entry because the election in Brazil was “terrible” and “rigged.” The US president also noted that he knows the candidate’s father, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, well.

Brazil’s reaction

Jair Bolsonaro, who was Trump’s ally during his presidency from 2019 to 2023, is serving a 27-year prison sentence for participating in planning an attempted coup after the 2022 election. The aim of that attempt was to prevent Lula from taking office as president.

According to a person close to Lula, the Brazilian president will wait for the Trump administration’s next steps before assessing the situation’s impact on bilateral relations. In particular, this will depend on whether Trump receives Flávio Bolsonaro and his brother Eduardo in Washington, what support the defeated candidate receives, and the outcome of next week’s US midterm elections.

More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.

Strained relations

Trump told journalists that he does not intend to intervene further. At the same time, he called the Brazilian election “very strange.”

Flávio Bolsonaro, who is the subject of at least two federal investigations in Brazil on suspicion of money laundering, said he would lead the opposition to Lula from the United States. He also accused the authorities of election fraud without providing evidence.

Brazilian courts consider the election results definitively established, and Lula has been recognized by nearly all governments in the region. At the same time, the Trump administration is interested in cooperating with Brazil in energy and the development of critical minerals.