Trump’s national security adviser praises Brazil’s far-right president-elect Bolsonaro as ‘like-minded’

Donald Trump’s national security adviser has welcomed Brazil’s election of far-right Jair Bolsonaro as a “positive sign” for Latin America.

John Bolton praised Mr Bolsonaro, who is openly racist, homophobic and sexist, as “like-minded”.

The comments came during a speech in Miami in which he appealed to the city’s thousands of exiles from Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua, days before tightly contested midterm elections in Florida.

Mr Bolton announced new sanctions on the nations he described as a “troika of tyranny” and “destructive forces of oppression, socialism and totalitarianism”.

He drew a clear line between Latin America’s left-wing regimes and the right-wingers Mr Trump’s administration appear to view as allies.

The national security adviser said: “The recent elections of like-minded leaders in key countries, including Ivan Duque in Colombia and last weekend Jair Bolsonaro in Brazil are positive signs for the future of the region and demonstrate a growing regional commitment to the free market principles and open, transparent and accountable governance.”

A former spokesperson for the US National Security Council described the remarks as “terrifying”.

“It puts the US on the side of racism, misogyny, homophobia, and an aspiring autocrat,” added Ned Price, who served under Barack Obama.

Mr Bolsonaro has been dubbed “Trump of the tropics” by some Brazilian media for his extreme views and appeal to popularism.

The president-elect has spoken fondly of the military dictatorship which ruled the country between 1964 and 1985 and who has defended its use of torture on leftist opponents.

He also has a lengthy history of offensive remarks about women, immigrants, black Brazilians and gay people.

Many Brazilians fear Mr Bolsonaro will trample on human rights, curtail civil liberties and muzzle freedom of speech.

Mr Bolton did not address widespread concerns about Brazil's leader-in-waiting, reserving his criticism of repression for Latin America’s left-wing regimes.

He said: “This troika of tyranny, this triangle of terror stretching from Havana to Caracas to Managua, is the cause of immense human suffering, the impetus of enormous regional instability and the genesis of a sordid cradle of communism in the western hemisphere.”

Mr Bolton announced the US president had signed an executive order banning Americans from dealing with anyone involved with “corrupt or deceptive” gold sales from Venezuela.

US officials have said Venezuelan president Nicolas Maduro illegally exported at least 21 metric tonnes of gold to Turkey to avoid American sanctions and help rescue a collapsing economy once bolstered by vast oil reserves.

Mr Bolton blamed Cuba for enabling Mr Maduro’s government and urged the nations of the region to “let the Cuban regime know that it will be held responsible for continued oppression in Venezuela.”

He also singled out Nicaragua for criticism over leftist president Daniel Ortega’s crackdown on political opponents, saying the country’s government “will feel the full weight of America’s robust sanctions regime” with measures coming “in the very near future.”

Harold Trinkunas, deputy director of Stanford University’s Centre for International Security and Cooperation, said there was “no doubt” Mr Bolton’s speech “had an electoral purpose”.

“The timing and the location have an electoral impact and Florida is an important state for the Republican Party,” he added.