The United States is interfering in the Brazilian presidential elections, pressuring the Brazilian electorate into voting for right-wing candidate Flavio Bolsonaro, the son of disgraced former president, Jair Bolsonaro. If that does not work and President Lula da Silva secures a fourth term in office, the groundwork is already being laid for a potential military intervention. From sanctions and economic warfare, to coaching influencers and journalists on how best to attack the left-wing government, the Trump administration is doing everything it can to overthrow Lula. Meanwhile, the State Department’s recent decision to designate Brazilian gangs as “foreign terrorist organizations” just as it did with Venezuela’s Tren de Aragua, signals a willingness to intervene militarily. Brazil is Trump’s next target, and builds upon recent U.S. and Israeli interference in May’s Colombian elections, where pro-Trump candidate Abelardo de la Espriella won a razor-thin victory. MintPress examines the Trump administration’s attempts to undermine Brazilian democracy and install another Bolsonaro back into power.
by Alan MacLeod
Part 4 - “A gift from the CIA”
Milei’s use of the word convict refers to Operation Car Wash, a U.S.-backed scheme that saw Lula imprisoned on corruption charges. Lula had been leading Jair Bolsonaro by over 20 points in the polls for the 2018 general election, but was incarcerated and forbidden from running for office, even from his prison cell.
The prosecution worked closely with Washington to ensure Lula remained behind bars and unable to contest the election, paving the way for Bolsonaro’s rise. Bolsonaro later appointed Sergio Moro, the judge that sent Lula to prison, as his justice minister.
It later transpired, however, that Moro had been coordinating the whole time with the prosecution, including chief prosecutor Deltan Dallagnol, who remarked that Lula’s arrest was “a gift from the CIA.” Shortly after his election, both Bolsonaro and Moro flew to Langley, VA, for meetings at CIA headquarters.
In Washington’s eyes, the affair was a massive success. Leslie Backschies, then-FBI liaison and later head of the bureau’s international corruption unit, boasted that her organization had “toppled presidents in Brazil.”
Thus, what was sold to the Brazilian public as an “anti-corruption” crusade, was actually a prime example of modern lawfare, one, that Lula described as “having the hands of the United States on it.”
The brazen corruption of the case drew widespread domestic and international outrage, with Lula becoming the world’s most well-known political prisoner. After huge public pressure, he was released from prison, and his convictions annulled. In 2022, he swept to power in an election the Bolsonaro’s worked hard to overthrow.
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