Police in Brazil swooped on the home and political headquarters of Jair Bolsonaro early Friday, searching the properties, ordering the former president to wear an electronic ankle tag, barring him from speaking to foreign officials or approaching embassies and prohibiting him from using social media.
The restrictions, ordered by Brazil’s Supreme Court, were motivated by concerns that Bolsonaro would flee the country, amid his trial over an alleged plot to overturn the results of the 2022 presidential election to remain in power. Bolsonaro has denied wrongdoing.
Federal police also accused Bolsonaro and his son, Eduardo, of conspiring with the US government to impose sanctions against Brazilian officials, according to court documents. That action, the court said, “would directly benefit his father and financier, Jair Messias Bolsonaro.”
Federal police also seized an unspecified amount of US dollars in cash.
Speaking outside the police station Friday, Bolsonaro called the ankle tag “supreme humiliation” and said that he “never thought of leaving Brazil.”
“The suspicions (of me leaving the country) are an exaggeration… damn it, I’m a former president of the republic – I’m 70 years old,” he said.
Bolsonaro added that police seized “about 14,000 US dollars” and claimed the money was for personal use, adding he had the receipts to prove it.
The raid came as US President Donald Trump tried to force his current Brazilian counterpart Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to end the criminal trial against his predecessor by threatening crippling tariffs on the country.
Trump last week threatened Brazil with tariffs of 50% starting August 1, according to a letter posted to his social media platform, Truth Social.
In the letter, Trump linked the tariff threat to what he described as a “witch hunt” trial against Bolsonaro, a close ally.
Brazil’s Supreme Court on Friday accused Bolsonaro and his son Eduardo of working with the US to impose the tariffs.
The court documents highlighted a confidential meeting Bolsonaro had with a US State Department official and highlighted Trump’s letter as an “offensive” and “clear threat” to Brazilian sovereignty.
Brazil’s former President, Jair Bolsonaro, arrives to the State Secretariat of Penitentiary Administration headquarters in Brasilia on Friday. – Adriano Machado/Reuters
Speaking exclusively to CNN Thursday, da Silva, who is widely known as Lula, said that Trump’s threats had broken away from “protocol” and argued that his predecessor’s fate cannot be part of trade negotiations.
“The judiciary branch of power in Brazil is independent. The president of the Republic has no influence whatsoever,” he said, adding that Bolsonaro “is not being judged personally. He is being judged by the acts he tried to organize a coup d’etat.”
Lula added that Trump would be standing trial in his country if the actions he took during the January 6 insurrection had been committed in Brazil.
On Friday, Trump posted a letter to Bolsonaro on Truth Social, in which he suggested the former Brazilian leader was the victim of an “unjust system” and said that he would be “watching closely.”
Bolsonaro posted Trump’s letter on his official X account and thanked Trump for his support with “eternal gratitude,” in a subsequent video.
Bolsonaro had previously appeared to be preparing for the outcome of his trial and dismissed the idea that he might be considered a flight risk, saying: “I’ll face the process.”
“I’m not considering doing anything, I’m not considering anything, nothing at all,” he said, adding: “I’m not a criminal, the criminal is the one persecuting me.”
Bolsonaro could face more than four decades behind bars if found guilty of masterminding the coup.
He is among 34 people charged with five crimes, including attempting the coup. Part of the coup plot, prosecutors allege, involved a plan to potentially assassinate Lula, his vice president and a minister of the Supreme Court.
Brian Winter, executive vice president of Americas Society and Council of the Americas, told CNN that, for Brazil, the US is not as significant a trading partner as say, China.
“Brazil only sends about 11% of its exports to the United States,” Winter said. “That’s half what Brazil sends to China, and for some of Brazil’s exports – not all, but for some of them – they can find other markets besides the United States.”
“The question is, if this keeps escalating, could President Trump use measures that are even more painful, such as financial sanctions against large groups of people?” Winter asked, noting that Trump previously threatened, among other things, a travel ban on Colombian citizens during a disagreement with the Colombian government over migrant flights.
“It’s possible that President Trump could continue to escalate this in a way that could eventually produce considerably more pain for the Brazilian government and for the Brazilian people,” Winter said.
This story has been updated.
CNN’s Duarte Mendonca and Marcelo Medeiros contributed reporting.
For more CNN news and newsletters create an account at CNN.com
