Spanish police arrested an unidentified Brazilian air force officer who was traveling on one of Brazil's presidential planes headed to the Group of 20 summit in Osaka, Japan, after finding 86 pounds of cocaine in the officer's carry-on bag during a layover in Seville, El Pais reports. Brazil's Defense Ministry confirmed the arrest, and in a tweet Wednesday, President Jair Bolsonaro vowed an "immediate investigation and severe punishment of the person responsible for the narcotic material found" on the plane.
"Bolsonaro was elected on a populist platform with a mandate to be tough on crime, vowing to take a hardline approach to drug traffickers," Axios notes. Bolsonaro was not on this presidential plane — it was headed to Osaka in advance, to be used as his reserve plane. Originally, Bolsonaro was supposed to also have a stopover in Seville en route to Osaka, but late Wednesday night his itinerary was changed and his layover was moved to Lisbon. "The president's press department did not explain the reason behind the change, or whether it was related to the discovery of the drugs being carried in the backup plane," El Pais reports.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
‘Laughing stock’: Anthony Joshua’s £140m bout with Jake PaulTalking Point Boxing fans have expressed concerns the YouTuber may not survive the fight with British heavyweight
-
A dreamy skiing adventure in NisekoThe Week Recommends Light, deep, dry snow and soothing hot springs are drawing skiers to Japan’s northernmost island
-
Codeword: November 18, 2025The daily codeword puzzle from The Week
-
Ecuador rejects push to allow US military basesSpeed Read Voters rejected a repeal of a constitutional ban on US and other foreign military bases in the country
-
Trump pivots on Epstein vote amid GOP defectionsSpeed Read The president said House Republicans should vote on a forced release of the Justice Department’s Jeffrey Epstein files
-
Trump DOJ sues to block California redistrictingSpeed Read California’s new congressional map was drawn by Democrats to flip Republican-held House seats
-
GOP retreats from shutdown deal payout provisionSpeed Read Senators are distancing themselves from a controversial provision in the new government funding package
-
Catholic bishops rebuke Trump on immigrationSpeed Read ‘We feel compelled’ to ‘raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity,’ the bishops said
-
House releases Epstein emails referencing TrumpSpeed Read The emails suggest Trump knew more about Epstein’s sex trafficking of underage women than he has claimed
-
Newsom slams Trump’s climate denial at COP30speed read Trump, who has called climate change a ‘hoax,’ declined to send any officials to this week’s summit
-
UK, Colombia halt intel to US over boat attacksSpeed Read Both countries have suspended intelligence sharing with the US over the bombing of civilian boats suspected of drug smuggling
