Brazil's former President Bolsonaro planned to seek asylum in Argentina, police say

Brazil's federal police say they have found messages on the telephone of former President Jair Bolsonaro showing he had wanted to flee to Argentina and request political asylum.

Bolsonaro is currently awaiting a Supreme Court ruling about an alleged coup attempt and learned on Wednesday he might face another case as police formally accused him and one of his sons, Eduardo Bolsonaro, of obstruction of justice in connection with his trial.

The 170-page report said Bolsonaro had drafted a request for political asylum from Argentine President Javier Milei's government dated 10 February 2024.

He saved the document two days after authorities searched his home and office as part of the alleged coup plot investigation.

Close to that date, Bolsonaro admittedly spent two nights at the Hungarian Embassy in Brasília, fuelling speculation he may have been attempting to avoid arrest.

The Argentina plot is part of the wider police accusation of obstruction of justice, in which Bolsonaro has allegedly ignored precautionary measures established for his house arrest and spread content to his allies "to directly hit Brazilian democratic institutions, notably the Supreme Court and even Brazil’s Congress," according to the report.

Obstruction of justice accusations

In a 33-page letter addressed to Milei, Bolsonaro claimed he was being politically persecuted in Brazil.

"I, Jair Messias Bolsonaro, request political asylum from Your Excellency in the Republic of Argentina, under an urgent regime, as I find myself in a situation of political persecution in Brazil and fear for my life," the former Brazilian leader wrote.

Brazil's police gathered several messages between Bolsonaro and his son in which they showed interest in praising US President Donald Trump to influence legal proceedings back home.

"You won't have time to reverse the situation if the guy here turns his back on you. Everything here is very touchy, every little thing affects you," Eduardo Bolsonaro told his father in one of the exchanges.

Eduardo Bolsonaro also said he had secured US government support "with great difficulty," claiming that he and an ally, Paulo Figueiredo, were the only ones with access to the White House.

He also told his father that pressure from Trump was the only chance Bolsonaro had to avoid prison.

"The most powerful man in the world is on your side. We did our part," Eduardo texted on 10 July.

A verdict and sentence in the coup trial will come from a Supreme Court panel of five justices. They are scheduled to announce their rulings between 2-12 September. The new findings will not be part of that decision.

Prosecutors say Bolsonaro and several of his allies headed a criminal organisation that plotted to overturn the election, including plans to kill current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.