In scenes that seem out of a political thriller from the cold war days, it surfaced today that former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro spent two nights at the Hungarian embassy in Brasilia after Brazilian Judiciary seized his passport – and reportedly considered asking for political asylum.
The story was broken by the New York Times, that analyzed three days of footage from four cameras at the Hungarian embassy.
The images show Bolsonaro arriving on the evening of Monday, February 12th, and leaving on the afternoon of Wednesday, February 14th.
Back in February 8, Brazil’s Federal Police confiscated former President Jair Bolsonaro’s passport and arrested two of his former aides on the fabricated charges that ‘they planned a coup’ after he lost the 2022 presidential election.
Read: BREAKING: Former Brazilian President Bolsonaro’s Home Raided and Passport Seized
O Globo reported:
“According to the NYT, the former president stayed at the embassy for the next two days, accompanied by two security guards and in the company of the Hungarian ambassador and members of the diplomatic team. Bolsonaro, the target of several criminal investigations, could not be arrested in a foreign embassy, because the location is legally beyond the reach of national authorities.
Also according to NYT, the stay at the embassy suggests that the former president was trying to take advantage of his friendship with Prime Minister Viktor Orban, of Hungary, in a possible attempt to escape justice while facing criminal investigations in his country.
The NYT verified the images by comparing them with images from the embassy, including satellite images that showed the car in which Bolsonaro arrived parked in the garage on February 13.
A Hungarian embassy official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters, confirmed the plan to welcome Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro’s lawyer declined to comment. The Hungarian Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.”
O Globo reported:
“According to the NYT, the former president stayed at the embassy for the next two days, accompanied by two security guards and in the company of the Hungarian ambassador and members of the diplomatic team. Bolsonaro, the target of several criminal investigations, could not be arrested in a foreign embassy, because the location is legally beyond the reach of national authorities.
Also according to NYT, the stay at the embassy suggests that the former president was trying to take advantage of his friendship with Prime Minister Viktor Orban, of Hungary, in a possible attempt to escape justice while facing criminal investigations in his country.
The NYT verified the images by comparing them with images from the embassy, including satellite images that showed the car in which Bolsonaro arrived parked in the garage on February 13.
A Hungarian embassy official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal matters, confirmed the plan to welcome Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro’s lawyer declined to comment. The Hungarian Embassy did not immediately respond to a request for comment.”
Conservative champions Bolsonaro and Orbán have maintained a close relationship for years. Bolsonaro has called Orbán ‘his brother’, Orbán has called Bolsonaro ‘a hero’.
It’s probably not a coincidence that the NYT got this scoop a few days after the CIA director William Burns came to Brazil. We are used to ambassador Burns being the real rainmaker down here.
The acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Maria Laura da Rocha, held a meeting with @CIA Director William Joseph Burns. They talked about the traditional #cooperation between and , in particular in fighting disinformation and strengthening democratic institutions. pic.twitter.com/IbavN5nQyz
— Itamaraty Brazil (@Itamaraty_EN) March 19, 2024
Tupi Report on Telegram:
“‘I won’t deny that I was at the embassy, yes. I won’t say where else I’ve been. I maintain a circle of friendship with some heads of state around the world. They are concerned. I talk to them about matters of interest to our country. And that’s it. The rest is speculation, I don’t care what you’re going to assert’.
Supreme Federal Court (STF) ministers cautioned journalists that they will exercise caution to avoid conveying an image of ‘persecution’, as such situations can lead to pre-trial detention.
‘The court cannot fall into the trap and make any mistakes that affect the credibility of the handling of the January 8th investigation’, said a member of the Court privately.”
PLUS: The Federal Police (PF) opened an inquiry to investigate the reasons why former President Jair Bolsonaro spent two nights at the Hungarian embassy following Operation Tempus Veritatis, launched on February 8th.
PLUS:
Jair Bolsonaro’s defense stated that the former president spent two days at the Hungarian embassy in Brasília ‘updating the political scenarios of both nations’ and conversing with various Hungarian authorities
“The former President of the Republic, Jair Bolsonaro, spent two days staying at the Hungarian embassy in Brasília to maintain contacts with authorities of the friendly country. As is public knowledge, the former head of state maintains a good relationship with the Hungarian Prime Minister, with whom he recently met at the inauguration of President Javier Milei in Buenos Aires.
During the days he stayed at the Hungarian embassy, by invitation, the former Brazilian president conversed with numerous authorities from the friendly country, updating the political scenarios of the two nations. Any other interpretations that go beyond the information provided here constitute an evident work of fiction, unrelated to the reality of the facts, and are, in practice, yet another set of fake news”.
