Brazil’s Supreme Court has authorized a visit by a senior advisor to former U.S. President Donald Trump to see ex-President Jair Bolsonaro, who is currently imprisoned. The visit is scheduled for March 18, the court announced Tuesday, March 10, 2026.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversees Bolsonaro’s imprisonment following a 27-year sentence for attempting to subvert the 2022 election results, approved the meeting with Darren Beattie. The visit will take place between 8:00 and 10:00 a.m. Local time next Wednesday.
Beattie, currently a senior policy advisor for Brazil at the U.S. State Department, will be allowed to have a translator present, with the translator’s identity to be provided in advance, according to the court’s ruling.
Potential Meeting with Flávio Bolsonaro
During his trip to Brazil, Beattie is likewise expected to meet with Flávio Bolsonaro, the former president’s son and a leading right-wing candidate in the upcoming October elections, local media report. This development could signal continued U.S. Engagement with Bolsonaro’s political circle despite his imprisonment.
Beattie has previously accused Justice Moraes of being “the principal architect of the censorship and persecution complex against Bolsonaro and his followers,” and has advocated for sanctions against the judge.
The Trump administration last year included Moraes on a list of human rights violators and froze any assets he may have held in the United States, as part of a campaign to pressure Brazil’s judicial system regarding the case against Bolsonaro.
However, those sanctions were lifted several months later amid negotiations between the U.S. And the government of Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva to ease tensions between the two countries.
While Lula remains the frontrunner in the upcoming election, Flávio Bolsonaro has been gaining ground in opinion polls and is now statistically tied with the Workers’ Party leader in some surveys. The visit from a high-profile Trump advisor could provide a boost to the Bolsonaro family’s political ambitions.
gs (efe, reuters)
