April 24 (UPI) — Doctors placed former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro in the DF Star Hospital’s intensive care unit after his health worsened after he underwent surgery earlier this month.
“He has shown clinical worsening, increased blood pressure and worsening of liver laboratory tests,” his medical team said Thursday in a translated post on X.
His medical team scheduled Bolsonaro for imaging tests on Thursday while continuing to monitor his health.
“He continues to fast and receive exclusive parenteral nutrition,” his medical team said. “He continues with motor physiotherapy and measures to prevent venous thrombosis.”
His medical team is not allowing visitors and cannot estimate when he might be discharged from the ICU at the hospital located in Brasilia.
Bolsonaro’s condition is caused by intestinal complications from stab wounds that he suffered when he was attacked by a would-be assassin during a 2018 campaign event.
The former army captain served as Brazil’s president from 2019 to 2023 after winning the election on a platform dedicated to opposing corruption and improving Brazil’s economy.
He was hospitalized on April 11 after experiencing abdominal pain during an event in northeastern Brazil.
His son, Carlos Bolsonaro, on April 13 said the former Brazilian president underwent his seventh surgery following the 2018 assassination attempt.
Bolsonaro lost his bid for re-election in 2022, and Brazil’s Supreme Court in March ruled he should stand trial on charges accusing him of plotting to overturn the 2022 election results.
Current Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won the election, and Bolsonaro has denied breaking any laws after failing to overturn the election results.
He is accused of attempting a coup on Jan. 8, 2023, and is to be tried by Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court.
Bolsonaro said he wasn’t in Brazil on that date and it would be impossible for him to destroy public property or attempt a coup when he was out of the country.
He said he was unaware of any planning for the Jan. 8 event that he called a “coup without leadership, without troops, without weapons” and “without a president to overthrow at the time.”
