Pompeo Leads US Delegation to Bolsonaro's Brazil Inauguration

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will lead a U.S. delegation to the Jan. 1 presidential inauguration of Brazil's polarizing populist, Jair Bolsonaro, The Hill reported Monday.

Dubbed "Trump of the Tropics," Bolsonaro has been embraced by the administration, including White House National Security Adviser John Bolton, who called him a "like-minded partner" after a meeting last month, The Hill reported.

According to a White House announcement, the delegation will include Mark Green, administrator of U.S. Agency for International Development; William Popp, the interim chief of the U.S. embassy in Brazil; and Mauricio Claver-Carone, the senior director for Western hemisphere affairs on the National Security Council, The Hill reported.

President Donald Trump, during a congratulatory call to Bolsonaro after his victory in October, said the United States was looking forward to working "side-by-side" with the Bolsonaro administration as "regional leaders of the Americas."

For his part, Pompeo called Bolsonaro to discuss future "cooperation."

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