Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro has undergone a specialized medical procedure to address a persistent nine-month bout of chronic hiccups, according to official statements from his medical team. The non-surgical intervention, performed on Saturday and lasting approximately one hour, targeted his right phrenic nerve—a critical neural pathway controlling diaphragm function.
This latest medical development follows Bolsonaro’s recent surgery for a double hernia, conducted earlier in the week after judicial authorities granted him temporary hospital transfer from custody. The 70-year-old far-right leader is currently serving a 27-year imprisonment sentence for orchestrating a coup plot following his defeat to left-wing rival Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the 2022 presidential election.
In a significant political maneuver from his hospital bed, Bolsonaro formally endorsed his son Flávio Bolsonaro as a presidential contender against Lula in the upcoming 2026 elections. The endorsement was delivered via handwritten letter and publicly announced by the younger Bolsonaro outside the medical facility.
Medical authorities have scheduled a follow-up procedure for Monday to address the left phrenic nerve. Upon completion of medical treatment, Bolsonaro will return to his cell at federal police headquarters to continue serving his sentence. His incarceration followed September’s guilty verdict for coup plotting, with subsequent house arrest ending last month when courts deemed him a ‘concrete flight risk’ following alleged attempts to disable his ankle monitor and use public gatherings as escape cover.
In related developments, Brazil’s Supreme Court issued house arrest orders on Saturday for ten additional officials from Bolsonaro’s administration for their participation in the attempted coup.