US-Außenpolitik: Trump: Brasiliens Wahlverlierer Bolsonaro kann in USA bleiben

Palm Beach, Florida - US President Donald Trump has stated that defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro can remain in the United States for an indefinite period. At a Halloween party in his Mar-a-Lago club in Florida on Saturday evening, Trump told reporters, "He can stay here as long as he wants. In my opinion, the election was a disgrace."

These remarks are likely to further strain relations between the two largest democracies in America. Earlier, US Secretary of State Marco Rubio had discussed the matter with Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira at a G20 meeting in Atlanta. Bolsonaro had left Brazil after losing the presidential election to incumbent left-wing leader Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

Shortly after his defeat, a Brazilian judge ordered the seizure of Bolsonaro's passport due to ongoing money laundering investigations and his being deemed a flight risk by police. Reuters previously reported that he received a humanitarian special permission (humanitarian parole) to enter the US, typically valid for one year. Trump said on Saturday that he had no plans to meet Bolsonaro.

While Secretary of State Rubio said the US government was "not directly involved in the steps that led to Bolsonaro's departure," according to media reports, a White House staffer helped organize the trip. Bolsonaro's father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, is currently incarcerated in Brazil for allegedly planning a coup following his own electoral loss in 2022.

Lula himself served 17 months in prison in 2018 and 2019 on corruption charges, a case that was later dropped.