Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro was placed under house arrest for an alleged attempted coup meant to keep him in office after his 2022 electoral defeat.
President Donald Trump has responded by imposing a 50% tariff on the nation over its handling of Bolsonaro’s case, according to NPR.
Bolsonaro, also known as “Tropical Trump,” was put under restrictions on what he could say publicly after his defeat.
However, the 70-year-old allegedly used his three sons, who hold elected office, to amplify his message to the people, Brazil’s leftist Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said in his decision Monday.
The former president allegedly said, “Good afternoon, Copacabana, good afternoon, my Brazil, a hug to everyone, this is for our freedom” through the cell phone of one of his sons during a protest in Rio de Janeiro.
Attorneys for Bolsonaro said that this message could not “be regarded as ignoring precautionary measures or as a criminal act.”
However, the radical activist judge disagreed.
Attorneys for Bolsonaro have promised to appeal his conviction.
Meanwhile, Trump is using the power of the American government in pursuit of justice for Bolsonaro, a longtime ally.
The measures from Trump include the tariff leveled against the South American nation as part of his trade war and other sanctions.
The Trump administration believes the case against Bolsonaro is dubious.
When the Treasury Department announced sanctions against Brazil, it claimed that de Moraeas imposed “arbitrary” pre-trial detentions and used his authority to stifle the free speech of his political enemies, according to Fox News.
“Alexandre de Moraes has taken it upon himself to be judge and jury in an unlawful witch hunt against U.S. and Brazilian citizens and companies,” Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said in the notice.
“De Moraes is responsible for an oppressive campaign of censorship, arbitrary detentions that violate human rights, and politicized prosecutions—including against former President Jair Bolsonaro.”
“Today’s action makes clear that Treasury will continue to hold accountable those who threaten U.S. interests and the freedoms of our citizens,” Bessent added.
In addition to the hefty tariffs, the sanctions imposed on the judge included freezing any assets in the U.S. held by de Moraes in a 50% or more share, including property.
Moreover, the Treasury Department warned that any entity or person who engages in activities or completes transactions with de Moraes in violation of the sanctions may also be subject to the sanctions.
Trump was able to impose sanctions based on an executive order he issued in his first term, combating “serious human rights abuse and corruption around the world,” which “constitute an unusual and extraordinary threat to the national security, foreign policy, and economy of the United States.”
Passed in 2017, Executive Order 13818 added to the existing 2016 Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, giving the president the right to declare sanctions against entities that violated those rights.
The use of this was already in the works, as last month, the White House was rumored to be working with the Brazilian ex-president’s son, Eduardo.
The Brazilian Supreme Court’s case against Bolsonaro accused him of orchestrating a coup attempt through criticism of the voting system and an effort to get top military officials on board with his plan, including a riot at the nation’s capital.
The weaponized high court even alleged that there was a plan to assassinate de Moraes and Bolsonaro’s successor.
Predictably, the Left has drawn strong parallels between Bolsonaro and Trump.
According to a CNN report in 2023, many claimed that Bolsonaro’s rhetoric about election rigging and the ensuing riot mirrored the Jan. 6, 2021, protests at the U.S. Capitol, which the Democrats deceitfully framed as an “insurrection.”
Leftist news outlets falsely claimed that Jan. 6 was an “insurrection” that Trump incited by giving a speech and then waiting at the White House while it unfolded.
However, this claim has since been debunked in court.
Bolsonaro was not even in Brazil during the riot, but both were roundly criticized for these events, which took place allegedly at their behest.
Then-President Joe Biden took to X to denounce such actions after the Democrats’ favored candidate, radical socialist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, “won” the election.
“I condemn the assault on democracy and on the peaceful transfer of power in Brazil,” Biden wrote at the time.
“Brazil’s democratic institutions have our full support, and the will of the Brazilian people must not be undermined.”
It’s difficult to separate fact from fiction in the U.S., let alone in a foreign country.
However, Trump’s defense of Bolsonaro and the actions against him speak volumes.
It comes after Trump has been vindicated in defending himself against his own witch hunt.
READ MORE – Tulsi Gabbard to Release Evidence Showing U.S Intelligence Helped Rig 2020 Election
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