Bolsonaro planned to flee to Argentina, Brazil police say

Police in Brazil have accused former President Jair Bolsonaro, 70, and his 41-year-old son Eduardo of obstruction of justice.

They allege that the two tried to interfere in the trial currently under way against the elder Bolsonaro, in which he stands accused of leading an attempted coup after his defeat in the 2022 presidential election.

Police say they have found a document on Jair Bolsonaro's mobile phone which suggests he planned to evade criminal proceedings by seeking asylum in Argentina.

They also accuse Eduardo Bolsonaro of lobbying the Trump administration on behalf of his father - which they say led to the US imposing punitive tariffs on Brazilian goods.

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The 170-page police report comes less than two weeks before the start of the final phase of the coup trial and piles further pressure on the former leader.

Jair Bolsonaro denies conspiring to overturn his 2022 election loss to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

But he has questioned the fairness of the proceedings against him, alleging he is the target of a "political witch hunt".

He told news agency Reuters last month that he had "no doubt" the five Supreme Court justices tasked with delivering the verdict had already made up their mind about convict him.

But at the time, he denied ever having made plans to try to evade the trial.

"I've never considered leaving the country, never," he told Reuters, adding that he believed the coup charges were designed to "eliminate" him from running for president in 2026.

But in their report filed on Wednesday, police say they found a draft letter on Jair Bolsonaro's mobile phone requesting political asylum in Argentina.

The 33-page letter was addressed directly to Argentine President Javier Milei, according to the report. Milei has condemned Bolsonaro's "persecution" and is seen as a political ally of the former leader.

The letter is not dated but police say it was last modified on the phone in February 2024, shortly after Bolsonaro had to surrender his passport to police.

It is not clear whether the draft was ever sent and an Argentine government source has told Reuters that the office of the Argentine president had not received a letter from Bolsonaro.

But police argue the draft shows Bolsonaro's intent to evade justice.

Alexandre de Moraes, the judge overseeing the Bolsonaro trial, has given the ex-president's lawyers 48 hours to provide an explanation for the alleged asylum request.

Jair Bolsonaro is currently under house arrest and is already barred from posting on social media and from contacting his son Eduardo for breaching court restrictions placed on him.

The report also accuses Eduardo Bolsonaro of trying to influence his father's trial by lobbying the Trump administration to lay pressure on the Brazilian government and the Supreme Court.

In July, Trump announced he would raise tariffs on Brazilian imports to 50%, citing Brazil's treatment of Jair Bolsonaro as a trigger for the hike.

In addition to that, the US State Department banned eight Brazilian Supreme Court justices - including Alexandre de Moraes - from travelling to the US.

Eduardo Bolsonaro, who has been in the US for almost six months, took to social media on Wednesday to deny the allegations against him.

He said that his actions in the US had never been intended to influence any ongoing proceedings in Brazil and that his goal had been the "restoration of individual freedoms in the country".