White House: US Has Received No Formal Request for Bolsonaro Extradition

WASHINGTON (Sputnik) - The United States has not received any official request for an extradition of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro , but if it does, Washington will review it carefully, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre told reporters on Wednesday.

“I am not aware of an official request for information of or extradition from the Brazilian government, though, of course if we were to receive one , we treat it seriously and examine it carefully as generally do for such requests,”Jean-Pierre said.

Bolsonaro, who was hospitalized with abdominal pain in Florida on Monday and left the hospital on the following day, said that he planned to return home earlier as Brazilian doctors had a better picture of his condition.

The development also comes a day after Brazilian Senator Renan Calheiros sent a request to Brazil's Federal Supreme Court Judge, Alexandre de Moraes, to seek Bolsonaro's immediate extradition from the US.

According to the senator, the former head of state is responsible for the unrest in Brazil. In addition, Brazilian Deputy Prosecutor General Lucas Rocha Furtado has asked a court to freeze Bolsonaro’s assets.

Bolsonaro lost the presidential election in Brazil in October and left for the United States on December 30, a day before his term ended, thus avoiding the inauguration of his successor Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

His supporters, rallying against the election results since their announcement, stepped up their protests last week and attempted to storm several government buildings on Sunday. Police regained control of the buildings by the evening and arrested over 400 protesters.