Inside the Trump-administration campaign to return Brazil’s Bolsonaro clan to power

Two US State Department officials, Darren Beattie and Ricardo Pita, led a covert campaign to restore the Bolsonaro family to power in Brazil, according to ten current and former US officials. Their efforts, which included advocating for sanctions and lobbying for Jair Bolsonaro's son, Flavio Bolsonaro, faced scrutiny as Brazil prepared for a tight run-off election between Flavio and leftist President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Beattie, a former White House speechwriter and architect of "free speech diplomacy," and Pita, a conservative Venezuelan-American, operated with significant autonomy in managing US relations with Brazil. Despite Jair Bolsonaro's conviction for plotting a coup in 2022, Beattie and Pita insisted the US policy was to restore him as Brazil's leader.

They instructed US diplomats not to engage with other conservative presidential contenders and advocated for punitive measures against Brazil, including designating Brazilian gangs as terrorist groups and targeting Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. The campaign's extent and White House involvement remain unclear.