Brazil’s far-right former president Jair Bolsonaro – although facing prosecution for an attempted coup according to the official report of the Brazilian Federal Police – plans to return to the political scene in his country, expecting support from US President-elect Donald Trump, the which may include the use of economic sanctions against current President Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, the American newspaper Wall Street Journal wrote yesterday.

“Trump is back, and this is a sign that we will be back,” Bolsonaro, who is barred from running for office until 2030 and faces criminal charges over the coup plot, told the Journal in an interview. in which he is allegedly directly involved.

Bolsonaro denies any wrongdoing and claims he is the victim of a witch hunt by President Lula and leftist judges, according to the Journal.

“They don’t just want me in jail, they want me dead,” the 69-year-old told the newspaper.

The incoming Trump administration did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment. Bolsonaro’s lawyer declined to comment on the newspaper interview, and Lula’s office also declined to comment.

On Tuesday, Brazil’s Federal Police recommended that Bolsonaro and former members of his government be prosecuted for attempting a coup to prevent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva from taking power after the 2022 presidential election.

The former head of state (2019-2022) was also “fully aware” of the alleged plot to assassinate Lula, according to the final police report, which calls for the indictment of Bolsonaro and 36 other people, most of them military.

Trump’s US election victory has reinvigorated Brazil’s far-right and raised hopes that Bolsonaro can envision a return to power despite legal obstacles to a 2026 presidential bid.