DID Press: A senior US State Department official has said that the administration of Donald Trump issued visas to Brazilian Senator Flávio Bolsonaro and members of his family after he left Brazil for the United States following his defeat in the country’s presidential election.
The news was reported on Tuesday, one day after Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered Bolsonaro to surrender his passport as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering. Bolsonaro has denied any wrongdoing and said on Monday that he had “never considered leaving the country” and would remain in Brazil to lead the opposition.
Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who has accused members of the Bolsonaro family of seeking US intervention in Brazil’s domestic affairs to advance their political interests, described the right-wing senator’s departure as shameful. Lula said Bolsonaro should have remained in the country to prove his innocence.
Speaking in Brasília on Tuesday during a ceremony marking his 81st birthday, Lula said: “Anyone who secretly leaves their country must have something to hide.”
He added that Brazil was a “second country” for the Bolsonaro family, while the United States was their first.
“Leaving Brazil is a shameful act,” Lula said.
Flávio Bolsonaro, the son of former right-wing Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, initially refused to accept the election results and said he would seek to overturn them. However, his party announced in a statement on Monday that it accepted the results of the election, in which the conservative candidate lost by more than 4.4 million votes.
Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump also expressed doubts about the election results, telling reporters that the vote looked “like another rigged election.”