The Brazilian Foreign Ministry asserted Thursday that Brazilian democracy will not be intimidated by “threats” like the one launched by U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who stated that Washington “will respond appropriately” to the sentencing of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to 27 years in prison for an attempted coup d’état.

“Threats like the one launched today by US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, in a statement that attacks Brazilian authorities and ignores the facts and compelling evidence of the case, will not intimidate our democracy,” the Brazilian diplomatic service stated on the social network X.

In this way, Itamaraty—as the ministry is known due to the palace that houses its offices—has warned that it will continue “defending the country’s sovereignty against aggression and attempts at interference, regardless of where they come from.”

Brazilian diplomacy responded to Rubio in this way, stating that " the United States will respond appropriately to this witch hunt ." “The persecution of sanctioned human rights violator Alexandre de Moraes continues, as he and other members of the Supreme Court have unjustly decided to imprison Bolsonaro,” he stated, referring to the judge presiding over the case.

Shortly before, US President Donald Trump called the sentence “shocking.” “It’s very similar to what they tried to do to me, but they didn’t get away with it,” he said, referring to the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021.

Support from Latin American countries

Washington’s intervention has also been met with a response from other Latin American presidents, such as Bolivian President Luis Arce, who rejected “the interventionist statements by the United States against Brazil,” which he described as “a free and sovereign country” in a Latin America that “is a zone of peace.”

“Threatening to use economic and military power , in supposed defense of freedom of expression in favor of Bolsonaro, constitutes a colonialist and unacceptable interference in the internal affairs of a sovereign nation and violates International Law,” he denounced in a message on X in which he also showed support for his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Similarly citing Marco Rubio’s threat to Brazilian institutions, Colombian President Gustavo Petro has argued that “every coup plotter must be condemned.” “These are the rules of democracy,” he maintained on the same social network.

Likewise, Chilean President Gabriel Boric expressed his respect for Brazilian democracy, which withstood an attempted coup d’état and is now trying and sentencing those responsible. “They tried to destroy it, and today it emerges stronger,” he celebrated, concluding his post on X with the words, “Democracy always.”