US Ready To 'Respond Swiftly' To Any Requests From Brazilian Government

The US is ready to respond to any requests from the Brazilian government to cooperate for the extradition of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro to the country, a State Department spokesman said on Monday.

Asked whether the US is ready to cooperate for the extradition of the former Brazilian president, Ned Price said: "We are ready to respond swiftly and as appropriate to any requests from the Brazilian Government. We have not yet received any such requests."

Price said they have "well-honed processes" in place to cooperate where requests are made for information or potentially for action on the part of Brazil to the US.

"As we always are, we are standing by for any request – requests for assistance from our Brazilian partners, from Brazilian authorities, whether those come through diplomatic channels, whether they come through law enforcement channels, and we will of course respond to those requests as appropriate," Price added.

Stressing that the US and Brazil are close partners, he said they "work together day to day on any number of matters and issues, and oftentimes those are matters of law enforcement."

On the recent attacks on Brazil's government institutions, he said the US gave "swift and immediate" support for Brazil's democratic institutions. "That message was loud and resoundingly clear," he added.

Bolsonaro left Brazil two days prior to the Jan. 1 inauguration of Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva for a third term as president.

On Sunday, hundreds of supporters of Bolsonaro stormed and ransacked the legislative chambers of the capital Brasilia, including the presidency, Congress, and Supreme Court.

Security forces managed to regain control later Sunday, with Lula implementing a Federal intervention, allowing the armed forces to contain Bolsonaro supporters.

Some 1,200 protesters have been arrested in connection to the incident while pro-Bolsonaro camps set up by his supporters are being dismantled in at least six states and the Federal District – with the order given by the Minister of Brazil's Federal Supreme Court (STF), Alexandre de Moraes.

The Supreme Court has also removed Governor of the Federal District Ibaneis Rocha from office for three months after the unrest at government buildings in Brasilia.

On Sunday, Lula alleged that the far-right politician had encouraged such actions in a number of his speeches.

However, Bolsonaro rejected accusations being leveled against him "without evidence, attributed to me by the current head of the executive of Brazil."

Bolsonaro insisted in a tweet that "peaceful demonstrations, in the form of the law, are part of democracy. However, depredations and invasions of public buildings as occurred today, as well as those practiced by the left in 2013 and 2017" are not within the rules.

The former Brazilian leader underscored that "throughout my mandate, I was always (operating) within the four lines of the Constitution, respecting and defending the laws, democracy, transparency and our sacred freedom."

*Writing by Gozde Bayar in Ankara -