Bolsonaro Hid Out at Hungarian Embassy as Investigators Closed in: Report

Jair Bolsonaro enjoyed a two-night stay at Brazil’s Hungarian Embassy last month as the various investigations into his alleged criminal activities intensified, according to a Monday report by The New York Times. The newspaper obtained security camera footage of Brazil’s far-right former president hovering around the entrance to the embassy on Feb. 12, waiting to be let in. He left the afternoon of Feb. 14, staying “mostly out of sight” in the intervening hours, according to the Times. After the report was published, Bolsonaro told Brazilian news outlet Metrópoles that he wouldn’t deny he went to the embassy. “I have a circle of friends with some world leaders,” he said. “They’re worried.” Four days prior to his sojourn, Brazilian federal police seized Bolsonaro’s passport and arrested two of his former aides on allegations they conspired to overturn the results of the 2022 election. Bolsonaro enjoys a close relationship with Hungarian leader Viktor Orban, and the Times theorized that his stay at the embassy might have been a “bid for asylum.” The federal police announced Monday they would investigate the embassy trip, according to The Brazilian Report.