Brazil’s Former President Bolsonaro Undergoes Surgery While in Jail

Former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, who is serving a 27-year prison sentence for an attempted coup, went into surgery on Thursday for an inguinal hernia, his wife said. The 70-year-old former president left prison on Wednesday for the first time since late November to undergo the procedure at the DF Star hospital in Brasilia. "My love has just gone to the operating room," Bolsonaro's wife, Michelle Bolsonaro, said in an Instagram post.

Bolsonaro has grappled with health issues since being stabbed in the stomach during the 2018 presidential campaign, undergoing multiple surgeries related to his wounds. He was also recently diagnosed with skin cancer. Doctors for the far-right former leader, who served from 2019 to 2022, anticipate that the operation will take about four hours and that his hospitalization will last between five and seven more days.

The surgery is to repair an inguinal hernia -- a protrusion in the groin area due to a tear in the abdominal muscles. "It is a complex surgery," Dr Claudio Birolini said Wednesday. "But it is a standardized... scheduled surgery, so we expect the procedure to be carried out without major complications." After the operation, doctors will assess whether Bolsonaro can undergo an additional procedure: blockage of the phrenic nerve, which controls the diaphragm, for recurrent hiccups, Birolini said.

Brazil's Supreme Court sentenced Bolsonaro to prison in September after he was found guilty of having led a scheme to prevent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva from taking office and to retain power. Bolsonaro has maintained his innocence, declaring he was a victim of political persecution. He has been confined to a small room with a minibar, air conditioning and a television at a Federal Police headquarters in Brasilia.

At least two police officers will guard the door to the former president's room during his hospitalization, according to a court order. Bolsonaro's release from prison for the medical procedure was authorized by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who presided over the case in which the former president was convicted.