Brazilian president’s comments come amid US attempts to pressure judges in coup trial against Trump ally Bolsonaro
The Brazilian president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has hit back at Donald Trump’s campaign against the South American country’s judiciary, claiming the US president would be put on trial in Brazil had the January 6 US Capitol attacks taken place there.
Trump has triggered what some experts call the greatest ever diplomatic rupture between the US and Brazil by slapping 50% tariffs on Brazilian imports and sanctioning a supreme court judge in an attempt to help his far-right ally, ex-president Jair Bolsonaro, avoid prison for allegedly trying to stage a coup after he lost the 2022 election to Lula.
Bolsonaro faces a four-decade jail sentence when the supreme court announces its verdict in the coming weeks – proceedings Trump has called a “witch-hunt” and has urged Brazilian authorities to halt.
On Wednesday, as Lula announced a rescue package for companies affected by Trump’s tariffs, Brazil’s leftwing president went on the counterattack against US attempts to pressure the five supreme court judges who will decide the fate of Bolsonaro and seven other alleged co-conspirators.
