Brazil’s Jair Bolsonaro recovering in intensive care after 12-hour surgery

Former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro was recovering in an intensive care unit on Monday after a tricky 12-hour surgery due to recurring intestinal issues since he was stabbed while campaigning in 2018.

The 70-year-old conservative firebrand was awake and doing “very well” in the intensive care unit, where he will remain during a slow recovery, doctors at the DF Star Hospital told journalists. It was his fifth surgery since the 2018 stabbing.

The former president was hospitalized on Friday after strong abdominal pains during an event with supporters in northeastern Brazil, forcing him to break off a regional tour aimed at drumming up support ahead of a trial before the Supreme Court.

Bolsonaro was transferred to the nation’s capital, Brasilia, where he lives, on Saturday night.

The surgery was difficult due to Bolsonaro’s prior surgeries and stab wound, but Sunday’s procedure did not have unexpected complications and the result was satisfactory, doctors said, adding that hospital visits for now should be limited to family.