The Federal Police (PF) found on Jair Bolsonaro’s cellphone a document in which the former president considered the possibility of requesting political asylum from Argentina’s President Javier Milei.
The document was found on the former president’s device, which last month was the target of a PF operation ordered by Minister Alexandre de Moraes in the inquiry investigating the US sanctions against Brazil.
According to the investigations, the 33-page document—unsigned and undated—had been saved on the device since 2024, when Bolsonaro was indicted in another operation aimed at probing the allegations of the coup plot.
“At the outset, I must say that I am, in my country of origin, persecuted for essentially political reasons and offenses. Within the scope of such persecution, recently, I was the target of various precautionary measures,” states an excerpt from the asylum request.
On this Wednesday (20), earlier, Bolsonaro and Deputy Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP) were indicted for the crimes of coercion in the course of the process and attempt to abolish the Democratic Rule of Law.
The decision was made after the PF concluded the investigations into Eduardo’s actions with the government of US President Donald Trump to promote retaliatory measures against the Brazilian government and Supreme Court justices. In March this year, Eduardo took leave from his parliamentary term and moved to the United States, alleging political persecution.
In the current process, the former president is being investigated for sending funds via Pix to finance his son’s stay abroad.
Bolsonaro is also a defendant in the coup plot criminal case at the Supreme Court.
Trip to Argentina
According to the PF, Bolsonaro traveled to attend Milei’s inauguration after making the last edit to the asylum document on his cellphone. The edit occurred on December 5, 2023. The trip took place from December 7 to 11.
According to the investigations, the document could be used to facilitate Bolsonaro’s flight.
“The informative elements found indicate, therefore, that former President Jair Bolsonaro had in his possession a document that would enable his flight from Brazil to the Argentine Republic, especially after the launching of a Federal Police investigation identifying materiality and criminal authorship regarding the crimes of violent abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law by a criminal organization,” said the PF.
Source: Agência Brasil