Former Brazilian President Claims Psychotic Breakdown Led to Monitor Tampering
Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil's former far-right president, has admitted to damaging his electronic ankle monitor with a hot soldering iron during what he described as a substance-induced psychotic attack. The startling revelation came during a custody hearing on Sunday, just 24 hours after his arrest at his Brasília home.
The 70-year-old politician claimed the incident occurred after he began taking two new medications - a powerful painkiller and an antidepressant - which triggered paranoid hallucinations. Bolsonaro told the court he became convinced the monitoring device contained a covert listening device planted to spy on him.
Arrest Follows Suspicious of Planned Escape
Bolsonaro's arrest came after security officials detected tampering with his ankle tag just after midnight on Friday. A supreme court judge subsequently ordered his detention based on suspicions he was planning to flee to a foreign embassy to avoid serving his 27-year prison sentence for masterminding a failed coup attempt.
Federal police officers executed the arrest warrant at approximately 6am on Saturday at Bolsonaro's rented mansion, where he had been living under house arrest since August. He was subsequently transported to a federal police base where he remains in custody.
The former president denied allegations he was planning to escape, despite previous behaviour that raised concerns. In 2024, Bolsonaro spent two nights at the Hungarian embassy for reasons that were never fully explained.
Conflicting Stories Raise Skepticism
Political observers and Bolsonaro's opponents have expressed doubt about his psychotic episode explanation, noting that in a video recorded early on Saturday, the former president offered a completely different version of events. In that footage, Bolsonaro can be heard telling a security official that he interfered with the equipment out of curiosity rather than due to hallucinations.
Bolsonaro told the court that after damaging the device with the soldering iron, he eventually snapped out of his paranoid state and stopped. He claimed he had no memory of experiencing such a psychotic episode before.
International Reactions and Diminishing Support
The political drama has drawn mixed reactions internationally. Former US President Donald Trump, once Bolsonaro's most powerful foreign ally, initially imposed 50% tariffs on Brazilian goods in what he called a witch-hunt against the former Brazilian leader. However, Trump's support began to wane after meeting Brazil's current president, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, at the UN in September.
In a significant policy shift last Thursday, Trump rolled back those tariffs on products including beef and coffee, marking a substantial victory for President Lula. When informed of Bolsonaro's arrest on Saturday, Trump offered only a lukewarm response, telling reporters: That's too bad.
US Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau criticised what he called the provocative and unnecessary incarceration of Bolsonaro, though there were no immediate signs of more severe retaliation from Washington.
Bolsonaro was found guilty by Brazil's supreme court in September of engineering a coup attempt and had been expected to be transferred to prison in the coming days following a series of appeals. His latest legal troubles add another chapter to the ongoing political turmoil in Brazil since his electoral defeat.
