Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has been hospitalized because of abdominal pains linked to a 2018 stabbing, his wife confirmed Monday on social media.
The Instagram post from Michelle Bolsonaro, comes as Brazil is still reeling from a mob of rioters who swarmed the country’s Congress, Supreme Court, and presidential place on Sunday.
Former President of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro looks on after a press conference two days after being defeated by Lula da Silva in the presidential runoff at Alvorada Palace on November 1, 2022 in Brasilia, Brazil
(Andressa Anholete/Getty Images)
Many of the protesters have said they want the Brazilian army to restore Bolsonaro to power and oust the newly inaugurated leftist Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro had flown to Florida ahead of Lula’s inauguration. He wrote on Twitter that peaceful protest is part of democracy but vandalism and invasion of public buildings are “exceptions to this rule.”
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Prior to Sunday’s riots, Bolsonaro had been seen repeatedly in a central Florida community near Orlando, wandering a Publix supermarket’s aisles, dining alone at a local KFC and, most of all, surrounded by clusters of adoring fans.
Though the Osceola County Sheriff’s Office said it received a request from the Secret Service to provide a police escort for Bolsonaro when he arrived and he was still a sitting president, he has not been surrounded by a noticeable phalanx of security.
His new home, Encore Resort at Reunion in the suburbs of Orlando, is made up of furnished rental homes with foosball tables, screening rooms, Disney decor on the walls and Mickey Mouse stuffed animals on beds.
FILE: Former Brazil President Jair Bolsonaro, center, meets with supporters outside a vacation home where he is staying near Orlando, Fla., on Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2023.
(Skyler Swisher/Orlando Sentinel via AP)
When asked by reporters Monday if the U.S. would send Bolsonaro back to Brazil, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the Biden administration hadn’t received any requests from Brazil related to the former president.
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Brazilian Justice Minister Flavio Dino told reporters that, as of now, Brazil had no plans to ask the U.S. for Bolsonaro to be extradited.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
