International press reports on the PF operation that arrested Bolsonaro’s allies

The international press covered the Federal Police (PF) operation to investigate the criminal organization responsible for acting in an attempted coup d'état and abolition of the Democratic Rule of Law. The investigation points out that former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL) had direct participation in the edition of the “coup draft” that circulated among his allies after the second round of elections. Conversations found on the cell phone of Lieutenant Colonel Mauro Cid, former aide-de-camp of the Presidency, suggest that Bolsonaro helped write and edit the document.

The newspaper The New York Times, from the USA, highlights that “Bolsonaro and dozens of advisors, ministers and military leaders worked together to undermine the confidence of the Brazilian public in the elections and prepare the ground for a possible coup”. The report says that “for months before the 2022 elections in Brazil, Bolsonaro sowed doubts about the security of his country's electoral systems and warned that if he lost, it would be the result of fraud.”

The Argentine There Nation says that this Thursday's police operation against “the attempted coup d'état” culminated in the events of January 8, 2023. The vehicle highlights that those investigated “spread false information about the electronic voting system in Brazil, before and after the elections, according to police.”

The English The Guardian says that “Bolsonaro repeatedly sowed doubts about the reliability of Brazil’s voting system and never admitted defeat after the elections.” The newspaper also highlights that Bolsonaro, described as an “extreme right-wing populist”, faces a series of other criminal investigations, including the jewelry embezzlement case, revealed by the Estadão.

The Spanish El País says that the judicial siege surrounding Bolsonaro “has been intensifying since, upon leaving power, he lost his immunity”. The newspaper also reports that this is the first time that the former president has been the target of a direct operation against him in investigations into the attempted coup d'état. Bolsonaro had his passport seized by the PF.

International news agencies, such as Bloomberg, Reuters It is AFP they also reflected on the operation against the former president. According to Reuters“the confiscation of Bolsonaro’s passport bodes ill for the former leader, a far-right populist often compared to former US President Donald Trump.”