PF: Bolsonaro wanted to request political asylum from the government.
Investigators indicated that the former president had been making plans to flee the country since February 2024.
André Richter - Reporter for Agência Brasil
The Federal Police (PF) found a document on Jair Bolsonaro's cell phone in which the former president considered the possibility of requesting political asylum from the president of Argentina, Javier Milei.
The document was found on the former president's device, which last month was the target of a Federal Police operation ordered by Minister Alexandre de Moraes in the investigation into US sanctions against Brazil.
According to the investigations, the The document has 33 pages - no signature and no date - and had been saved on the device since 2024., when Bolsonaro was accused in another operation, aimed at investigating accusations about the coup plot.
"First, I must say that I am persecuted in my country of origin for essentially political reasons and crimes. As part of this persecution, I have recently been the target of several precautionary measures," reads an excerpt from the asylum application.
Earlier this Wednesday (20), Bolsonaro and congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro (PL-SP) were indicted for the crimes of coercion during the process and attempted abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law.
The decision was made after the Federal Police concluded its investigation into Eduardo's actions alongside the administration of US President Donald Trump to promote retaliatory measures against the Brazilian government and Supreme Court justices. In March of this year, Eduardo requested a leave of absence from his parliamentary mandate and went to live in the United States, alleging political persecution.
In the current case, the former president is being investigated for sending funds, via Pix, to pay for his son's stay abroad..
Bolsonaro is also a defendant in the criminal case regarding the coup plot at the Supreme Court.
Trip to Argentina
According to the Federal Police, Bolsonaro traveled to attend Milei's inauguration after completing the final edit of the asylum document on his cell phone. The edit took place on December 5, 2023. The trip took place between December 7 and 11.
According to the investigations, the document could be used to facilitate the Bolsonaro's escape.
“The information found therefore indicates that former President Jair Bolsonaro had in his possession a document that would enable his escape from Brazil to the Argentine Republic, notably after the launch of an investigation by the Federal Police with the identification of materiality and criminal authority regarding the crimes of violent abolition of the Democratic State of Law by a criminal organization,” said the PF.
