U.S. State Secretary Marco Rubio on Sept. 11 vowed the United States would respond after Brazil’s former President Jair Bolsonaro was convicted of attempting a coup to remain in power.
The Brazilian Supreme Court sentenced Bolsonaro to 27 years and three months in prison after convicting him of plotting to overturn the 2022 election results—which he lost to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva—making him the first former president in Brazil convicted of a coup attempt.
Rubio said Bolsonaro’s conviction was a “witch hunt” and said the U.S. government “will respond accordingly,” without specifying what the actions might be.
“The political persecutions by sanctioned human rights abuser [Supreme Court Justice] Alexandre de Moraes continue, as he and others on Brazil’s supreme court have unjustly ruled to imprison former President Jair Bolsonaro,” Rubio stated on X.
In response, the Brazilian Foreign Ministry accused Rubio of attacking the country’s authority and said that its democracy will not be intimidated.
The ministry added that Rubio’s statement “ignores the facts and the compelling evidence on record” that led to Bolsonaro’s conviction.
“We will continue to defend the sovereignty of the country against aggressions and interference attempts, no matter where they come from,” the ministry stated on X.
A five-justice panel of Brazil’s Supreme Court convicted Bolsonaro on five counts, including an attempted coup, being part of an armed criminal organization, attempted violent abolition of democratic rule of law, damage characterized by violence, and a serious threat against the state’s assets and deterioration of listed heritage.
Bolsonaro has denied all allegations.
One member of the court, Justice Luiz Fux, voted to acquit Bolsonaro of all five charges, saying there was insufficient evidence for any of the prosecutors’ claims.
Commenting on the court’s decision on Sept. 11, President Donald Trump said that he was “very unhappy” with the conviction, and that it was “very bad for Brazil.”
“I thought he was a good president of Brazil, and it’s very surprising that could happen,” Trump said of Bolsonaro’s conviction.
In July, Trump imposed a 50 percent tariff on Brazilian imports over the prosecution of Bolsonaro. The U.S. government also sanctioned Justice Moraes and revoked his visa, along with those of his judicial allies and their family members, over what it called “censorship of protected expression in the United States” following Bolsonaro’s trial.
Lula has condemned the moves as interference in the Brazilian justice system. The Brazilian president warned that any “unilateral tariff increases” by the Trump administration will be addressed in line with Brazil’s economic reciprocity laws.
