86 pounds of cocaine found on plane of Brazil's anti-drug president Jair Bolsonaro
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.
-
Switzerland could vote to cap its populationUnder the Radar Swiss People’s Party proposes referendum on radical anti-immigration measure to limit residents to 10 million
-
Political cartoons for February 15Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include political ventriloquism, Europe in the middle, and more
-
The broken water companies failing England and WalesExplainer With rising bills, deteriorating river health and a lack of investment, regulators face an uphill battle to stabilise the industry
-
Judge blocks Hegseth from punishing Kelly over videoSpeed Read Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth pushed for the senator to be demoted over a video in which he reminds military officials they should refuse illegal orders
-
Trump’s EPA kills legal basis for federal climate policySpeed Read The government’s authority to regulate several planet-warming pollutants has been repealed
-
House votes to end Trump’s Canada tariffsSpeed Read Six Republicans joined with Democrats to repeal the president’s tariffs
-
Bondi, Democrats clash over Epstein in hearingSpeed Read Attorney General Pam Bondi ignored survivors of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein and demanded that Democrats apologize to Trump
-
El Paso airspace closure tied to FAA-Pentagon standoffSpeed Read The closure in the Texas border city stemmed from disagreements between the Federal Aviation Administration and Pentagon officials over drone-related tests
-
Judge blocks Trump suit for Michigan voter rollsSpeed Read A Trump-appointed federal judge rejected the administration’s demand for voters’ personal data
-
US to send 200 troops to Nigeria to train armySpeed Read Trump has accused the West African government of failing to protect Christians from terrorist attacks
-
Grand jury rejects charging 6 Democrats for ‘orders’ videoSpeed Read The jury refused to indict Democratic lawmakers for a video in which they urged military members to resist illegal orders
