The former president of Brazil, Jair Bolsonaro, is strategizing a political comeback, anticipating support from US president-elect Donald Trump, which may include using economic sanctions against current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, The Wall Street Journal reported late Thursday.
"Trump is back, and it's a sign we'll be back too," Mr Bolsonaro, who has been barred from running for office until 2030 and facing criminal charges for allegedly plotting a coup, said in an interview with the Journal.
Mr Bolsonaro denied any wrongdoing and claimed to be the victim of a witch hunt by president Lula and left-leaning judges, the report said.
They don't just want me in jail, they want me dead.
"They don't just want me in jail, they want me dead," the 69-year-old told the newspaper.
Mr Trump's incoming administration did not immediately respond to a Reuters' request for comment, while Mr Bolsonaro could not be immediately reached.
Earlier this week, Brazil's federal police presented evidence to the Supreme Court that Mr Bolsonaro was directly involved in plotting a coup to overturn the outcome of the 2022 election he lost.
The final police report, the result of a nearly two-year investigation, laid out evidence gathered from search warrants, wiretaps, financial records and plea bargain testimony pointing to a criminal conspiracy with Mr Bolsonaro at the helm.
