Texas Democrat calls on US authorities to extradite Bolsonaro to Brazil

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Rep. Joaquin Castro (D-Texas) on Sunday called on the Biden administration and local authorities in Florida to return to Brazil its far-right former President Jair Bolsonaro, whose supporters have stormed Congress and the Supreme Court from the country.

Bolsonaro “should be extradited to Brazil,” Castro told CNN’s Jim Acosta. “In fact, it was reported that he was under investigation for corruption and that he had fled Brazil to the United States. He is a dangerous man, they should send him back to his country from origin, Brazil.

Bolsonaro flew to Florida in late December as he faced multiple investigations since taking office, according to the New York Times. Bolsonaro, who lost his re-election bid in October, has not completely given in to newly elected Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Thousands of Bolsonaro supporters stormed Brazil’s Congress, Supreme Court and presidential palace on Sunday to protest the election results. Castro, who serves on the House Foreign Affairs Committee, compared the nation’s protests to the Jan. 6 riot in the Capitol, which celebrated its second anniversary on Friday.

“Bolsonaro was an authoritarian leader, and I support democratically elected leaders in Brazil,” he said. “He basically used the Trump playbook to induce domestic terrorists to try to take over the government.”

“Bolsonaro shouldn’t be in Florida,” he added. “The United States should not be a haven for this authoritarian, who inspired domestic terrorism in Brazil. He should be sent back to Brazil.

President Biden also condemned the violence in Brazil on Sunday, saying he would continue to work with Lula and that Brazil’s democratic institutions had the “full support” of the United States.

“I condemn the assault on democracy and the peaceful transfer of power in Brazil,” Biden said in a statement posted on Twitter. “Brazil’s democratic institutions have our full support and the will of the Brazilian people must not be undermined.

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When asked on a trip to the southern border what he thought of the situation as it unfolded, Biden called it “outrageous.”

The United States Embassy on Twitter warned its citizens in Brazil on Sunday that “media and police are reporting that an anti-democratic protest has turned violent and is now occupying areas of central Brasilia, including the Brazilian National Congress and the areas surrounding the place of the 3 powers”.

“Brazilian police forces react,” the tweet added. “U.S. citizens are warned to avoid the area until further notice.”

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