By Laura Gamba
BOGOTA, Colombia (AA) - Brazilian prosecutors charged congressman Eduardo Bolsonaro on Monday with "coercion" for allegedly leveraging US sanctions to interfere in the coup trial against his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro.
The younger Bolsonaro, who has been living in the US for months, was accused of "threatening judicial authorities and other powers." The prosecutor's office said he sought to obtain "sanctions from the US authorities ... if the case did not end" as his father desired.
The threats were deemed "unequivocal and consistent," aiming to "subjugate the interests of the Republic and the entire community to his own personal designs."
Eduardo Bolsonaro dismissed the charge as "bogus" and claimed it was brought by "Alexandre de Moraes’s lackeys in the Attorney General’s Office."
The charges came on the same day the US announced sanctions against Viviane Barci de Moraes, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who presided over Bolsonaro's criminal case. Sanctions were also imposed on the Lex Institute, a financial entity controlled by Barci de Moraes and other family members.
The sanctions applied under the Magnitsky Act mean that Barci and Lex will not be able to carry out economic activities involving a US citizen or company, as well as the blocking of assets and the suspension of visas.
The development follows the conviction of Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison by a Supreme Court panel for attempting a coup. The coup plot included a plan to assassinate President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, his vice president and Justice de Moraes.
US President Donald Trump imposed punitive tariffs of 50% on some Brazilian exports in retaliation for what he called a "witch hunt" against his ally.