US says Brazil has not made any requests related to Bolsonaro

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The US has not received any official requests from Brazil related to former President Jair Bolsonaro, the White House said on Monday after the ex-president's supporters stormed the nation's key federal institutions.

National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said the Biden administration is not in direct contact with the former leader, who left Brazil for the US state of Florida in the run-up to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, "so I can't speak definitively about his whereabouts."

"We have not, as of now received any official requests from the Brazilian government related to Bolsonaro," he added.

Bolsonaro was reportedly hospitalized in the US with abdominal pain, according to a local report on Monday. Bolsonaro was admitted to the AdventHealth Celebration hospital in Orlando, Florida.

The former leader had felt discomfort around his intestines and is expected to undergo medical examinations, according to Brazilian news outlet Poder360. Since 2018 when he was stabbed, the far-right politician has been hospitalized at least six times.

Bolsonaro's admission follows Sunday's raids in which hundreds of supporters of the far-right president stormed and ransacked the legislative chambers of the capital Brasilia, including the presidency, Congress and Supreme Court.

Security forces managed to regain control later Sunday, with Lula implementing a Federal intervention, allowing the armed forces to contain Bolsonaro supporters.

Some 1,200 protestors have been arrested in connection to the incident while pro-Bolsonaro camps set up by his supporters are being dismantled in at least six states and the Federal District - with the order given by the Minister of Brazil's Federal Supreme Court (STF), Alexandre de Moraes.

On Sunday, Lula alleged that the far-right politician had encouraged such actions in a number of his speeches.

However, Bolsonaro rejected accusations being leveled against him "without evidence, attributed to me by the current head of the executive of Brazil".

Bolsonaro left Brazil two days prior to the Jan. 1 inauguration of Lula for a third term as president.