Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro has applied for a new tourism visa, in advance of the expected expiration of the special visa on which he entered the U.S. at the end of his presidency, the Financial Times reports. With investigations revving up back in Brazil, Bolsonaro’s move this week might well be one of the opening acts of a lengthy extradition battle that could place the Biden administration in an awkward position.
Bolsonaro has famously been staying in Florida, at the home of MMA champion José Aldo, for the previous month — having arrived there in the final days of his presidency. When riots overtook government buildings in the capital of Brasília on January 8, there was speculation that law enforcement and the new administration of president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva would initiate investigations into his alleged culpability in the incidents. There are, in fact, now several ongoing investigations into Bolsonaro’s conduct in office, and the period afterward, leading up to the riots, potentially setting the stage for an extradition request.
While Bolsonaro had almost certainly entered the U.S. on an A-1 visa for heads of state and other foreign officials, a source told NR that that visa would have expired upon his departure from office on January 1. However, he still had 30 days after that date to leave the country — which is perhaps why Bolsonaro’s lawyer announced the tourist visa application yesterday in a statement to the FT.
Bolsonaro had been expected to leave Florida by the end of the month. Not anymore, though, Felipe Alexandre, the exiled leader’s counsel, told the outlet: “I think Florida will be his temporary home away from home.”
The Biden administration is facing some domestic political pressure on Bolsonaro’s status here, as some Congressional Democrats have called on the Biden administration to immediately expel Bolsonaro. For their part, senior officials such as Jake Sullivan, the national-security adviser, have said that the administration will wait for the Brazilian government to request assistance with an investigation or extradition.