Flávio Bolsonaro was received in Washington by U.S. officials while facing a political scandal in his home country over the financing of a movie about his father, Jair Bolsonaro, that has weakened the far-right candidate in the polls.
Donald Trump has given the Bolsonaro family a political boost ahead of Brazil’s next election in October, just as their candidate, Flávio Bolsonaro, faces a crisis at home. The eldest son of far-right extremist former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro had been shown in a technical tie with Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by several polling companies only weeks ago. Now, amid a political scandal, those polls show some decline in his support.
Although the meeting with the Bolsonaros did not appear on the U.S. president’s public schedule, Trump received the Brazilian delegation on Tuesday, May 26. It included Flávio Bolsonaro; Eduardo Bolsonaro, Jair Bolsonaro’s third son, who has been lobbying U.S. officials to help his father get out of jail, and commentator Paulo Figueiredo, who is under investigation in Brazil for coup plotting. Both Eduardo Bolsonaro and Figueiredo are currently living in the U.S.
The meeting lasted one hour and 40 minutes, and Jair Bolsonaro, the patriarch of Brazil’s far-right political dynasty, came up during the discussion. The former president is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence for plotting a military coup and seeking to “annihilate” Brazilian democracy, while he was trying to remain in power after losing the 2022 election to Lula da Silva.
The U.S. president did not forget his longtime ally and asked about his situation as soon as he met with his sons. “The first thing he did was ask about my father, about the prison conditions, how he is doing, and how the family has dealt with all of this,” Flávio Bolsonaro said after the meeting.
Flávio Bolsonaro, Paulo Figueiredo, and Eduardo Bolsonaro meet with Donald Trump in the Oval Office. (Source: X)
At a press conference, the Bolsonaro family’s candidate said that during his May 26 meeting with Trump, he asked the U.S. president to designate Brazil’s two largest drug gangs, Primeiro Comando da Capital (PCC) and Comando Vermelho, as terrorist groups. Two days later, the U.S. Department of State announced that the organizations would be labeled terrorist groups effective June 5.
International media have framed the move as a boost from the Trump administration for Flávio Bolsonaro, since the designation could place security at the center of Brazil’s political debate. Lula da Silva’s government opposes the decision, because it could open the door to foreign interference, either through military intervention or through sanctions on banks that, unknowingly, do business with members of those groups.
The current Brazilian government asserts that there are more effective ways to combat organized crime, such as empowering the police, improving coordination on international operations, and targeting the financial assets of gangs.
Secretary of State Marco Rubio publicized the decision on social media. He also met with the Bolsonaro delegation, which secured photos with several top MAGA figures, including Vice President JD Vance.
A Trump Brazil Adviser With White Supremacist Ties
Flávio also met with U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau and Darren Beattie, the Trump administration’s policy adviser on Brazil.
Beattie has a controversial and extremist record. He was fired from the first Trump administration in relation to his attendance at a meeting of white supremacists. Before returning to the government, he had mocked Rubio, who is now his boss, on X, calling him “low IQ” and spreading false rumors about the Secretary of State’s sexuality.
In March, Beattie was at the center of the latest diplomatic crisis between the U.S. and Brazil. Lula da Silva’s government revoked his visa to enter the South American country after learning that he planned to visit Jair Bolsonaro in a Brasília prison. Brazilian officials later explained that Beattie had lied about the purpose of his trip in his visa application.
The show of support from Trump and his allies came at a difficult time for Flávio Bolsonaro’s presidential campaign. Since May 13, the Brazilian senator has been under fire over a leaked conversation published by Intercept Brasil in which the candidate asked banker Daniel Vorcaro for $26 million to fund a film about his father. Vorcaro, who is currently in prison, is a suspected fraudster alleged to be behind a $10 billion bank collapse.
The scandal could also reach beyond Flávio. Brazil’s Federal Police suspect that funds allegedly linked to the film were used to cover expenses for his brother Eduardo Bolsonaro in the U.S., where he has lived since February 2025. Eduardo Bolsonaro denies the allegations.
Image from the Dark Horse trailer. (Source: YouTube)
The film backed by Flávio Bolsonaro was shot in English and is called Dark Horse. American actor Jim Caviezel, who played Jesus in Mel Gibson’s film The Passion of the Christ, portrays Jair Bolsonaro during his 2018 campaign. The film offers a revisionist portrayal of Bolsonaro, presenting him in a heroic way and echoing bogus complaints of fraud in the 2022 election, which the far-right politician lost, echoing Trump’s tactics after his 2020 presidential loss. It is expected to be released in September, just one month before Brazil’s election.
The messages between the suspected fraudster and Flávio Bolsonaro showed that the far-right candidate received around $12 million. The figure has drawn scrutiny because it would make the film very expensive for the local market, far more than many internationally successful Brazilian films. By comparison, The Secret Agent, nominated for four Oscars this year, cost about $5.6 million. Dark Horse is directed by Iranian-American filmmaker Cyrus Nowrasteh and written by Mário Frias, who served as secretary of culture under Bolsonaro.
In the U.S., the film will have the backing of former Trump adviser and felon Steve Bannon, who plans to promote it. Caviezel’s starring role is an asset for MAGA audiences. The American actor endorsed Trump in 2024, referring to him as “the new Moses.” In addition he has appeared at several Q-Anon-affiliated events, as well as on Bannon’s podcast.
