Former Brazilian President, Jair Bolsonaro has been admitted to a hospital in Florida on Monday, January 9 with stomach pains.
Bolsonaro was arrested on Monday, January 9th even as 1,500 of his supporters were arrested in Brasilia after breaching key government buildings in the capital over the weekend.
President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, a left leaning politician who took office on January 1 after defeating Bolsonaro in an October 2022 election, vowed to bring those responsible to justice.
Lula accused rioters of trying to overthrow democracy, and questioned why the army had not discouraged calls for a military coup outside their barracks.
On Sunday, angry mobs of Bolsanaro’s supporters stormed through Congress, the Supreme Court and presidential offices, smashing windows, furniture and artwork in the worst attack on state institutions since Brazil’s return to democracy in the 1980s.
Bolsonaro, who flew to the United States days before his term in office ended, went to a hospital in Orlando, Florida on Monday complaining of intestinal pains related to a stabbing he suffered during the 2018 election campaign.
His doctor said he has an intestinal blockage that was not serious and would likely not need surgery.
In an interview with CNN Brasil on Monday, Bolsonaro said he had planned to stay in the United States until the end of January, but now plans to go back to Brazil sooner to see his doctors.
“I intend to bring forward my return because in Brazil the doctors already know about my problem of intestinal obstruction due to the stab wound,” Bolsonaro said.
Bolsonaro faces several investigations before the Supreme Court in Brazil and his future in the United States, where he traveled with a visa issued to heads of state, diplomats and other government officials, is being questioned by Brazilian and some US politicians .
U.S. State Department spokesperson Ned Price said a person who entered on a visa for foreign officials must depart the country within 30 days or apply for a change of immigration status if they are no longer engaged in official business.
