U.S. President Donald Trump singled out Brazil for import taxes of 50 per cent, saying the trial of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is charged with trying to overturn his 2022 election loss, 'should not be taking place.

"I’ll be watching the WITCH HUNT of Jair Bolsonaro, his family, and thousands of his supporters, very closely," Trump stated. "The only Trial that should be happening is a Trial by the Voters of Brazil — It’s called an Election." The one area where Trump and Bolsonaro differ is in their pre-politics past.

Brazil’s foreign ministry has asked the highest representative of the US government in Brasilia to explain an embassy statement echoing President Donald Trump’s claims that former leader Jair Bolsonaro is facing political persecution,

By Ricardo Brito BRASILIA (Reuters) -Tensions between the United States and Brazil intensified on Wednesday after Brazil's Ministry of Foreign Affairs summoned the U.S. embassy's chargé d'affaires over a statement defending former Brazilian leader Jair Bolsonaro,