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Secretary of State Marco Rubio has vowed the US will respond after Brazil’s Supreme Court sentenced former President Jair Bolsonaro to 27 years in prison for plotting to overturn the 2022 election.
The Supreme Court sentenced Bolsonaro to 27 years and 3 months in prison after convicting him of attempting to overturn the 2022 election, which he lost to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He is the first former president of Brazil to be convicted of a coup attempt.
Rubio said Bolsonaro’s conviction was a “witch hunt” and said the US government “will respond accordingly.”
“The political persecutions by sanctioned human rights abuser [Supreme Court Justice] Alexandre de Moraes continue, as he and others on Brazil’s supreme court have unjustly ruled to imprison former President Jair Bolsonaro,” Rubio stated on X.
Rubio did no specify what the US response will be, but it could include further sanctions on particular individuals associated with the conviction, such as Supreme Court justice Alexandre Moraes, and higher tariffs on goods.
In July President Trump imposed 50% tariffs on Brazilian imports over the prosecution of Bolsonaro, and visas were revoked for a number of officials, including Moraes.
The Brazilian Foreign Ministry accused Rubio of interfering in Brazilian politics and said he had ignored “the facts and the compelling evidence on record” that led to Bolsonaro’s conviction.
“We will continue to defend the sovereignty of the country against aggressions and interference attempts, no matter where they come from,” the ministry stated on X.
The five-person Supreme Court panel convicted Bolsonaro on five counts, including an attempted coup, being part of an armed criminal organization, attempted violent abolition of democratic rule of law, damage characterized by violence, and a serious threat against the state’s assets and deterioration of listed heritage.
Bolsonaro denied all charges.
In response to the conviction, President Trump said he was “very unhappy,” adding that it was “very bad for Brazil.”
“I thought he was a good president of Brazil, and it’s very surprising that could happen,” Trump said.
