Tom Phillips
@tomphillips.bsky.social
Latin America correspondent for the @guardian based in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 🇧🇷 via London 🇬🇧, Beijing 🇨🇳 and Mexico City 🇲🇽 Say hello: [email protected]
Pinned
Over the moon that our Bruno and Dom podcast Missing in the Amazon has been nominated for a Rose D’Or! 🙏🏽
27 years in a 12 sq meter room www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Jair Bolsonaro ordered to start 27-year prison term for plotting Brazil coup
Ex-president to start serving term in 12 sq metre bedroom in police base in Brasília after time for appeals elapses
www.theguardian.com
November 25, 2025 at 7:05 PM
27 years in a 12 sq meter room www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Bolsonaro says he took a soldering iron to his ankle tag out of “curiosity”
No momento da troca da tornozeleira eletrônica, Jair Bolsonaro foi questionado sobre pq ela estava tão danificada. Ele responde que, por “curiosidade”, usava o ferro de solda desde a tarde 👇🏾
November 22, 2025 at 7:39 PM
Bolsonaro says he took a soldering iron to his ankle tag out of “curiosity”
“Moraes said Bolsonaro’s electronic ankle monitor had been tampered with at 12.08am on Saturday. That suggested “the convict had planned to break the ankle monitor in order to ensure the success of his escape, aided by the confusion caused by the protest”
Brazilian police arrest Bolsonaro amid suspicions he was about to flee
Politician reportedly taken from his villa into custody at a federal police base about 7 miles from presidential palace
www.theguardian.com
November 22, 2025 at 12:43 PM
“Moraes said Bolsonaro’s electronic ankle monitor had been tampered with at 12.08am on Saturday. That suggested “the convict had planned to break the ankle monitor in order to ensure the success of his escape, aided by the confusion caused by the protest”
“Nobody wants Bolsonaro to be put in a dungeon. Nobody wants Bolsonaro to be put in solitary confinement or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We want him to receive dignified treatment – but dignified treatment in prison,” said @reimont.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Jailhouse shock: Brazil coup monger Bolsonaro finally faces life behind bars
The former president’s far-right supporters have discovered a new interest in prison conditions as incarceration looms
www.theguardian.com
November 20, 2025 at 11:03 AM
“Nobody wants Bolsonaro to be put in a dungeon. Nobody wants Bolsonaro to be put in solitary confinement or for him to have to sleep on the floor. We want him to receive dignified treatment – but dignified treatment in prison,” said @reimont.bsky.social www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Over the moon that our Bruno and Dom podcast Missing in the Amazon has been nominated for a Rose D’Or! 🙏🏽
November 17, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Over the moon that our Bruno and Dom podcast Missing in the Amazon has been nominated for a Rose D’Or! 🙏🏽
On the eve of Chile's presidential election today, we followed the footsteps of the far-right favorite, José Antonio Kast, to its most northerly village, in the Andes www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
‘We need an iron fist’: the Trump-inspired favourite to win Chile’s election
José Antonio Kast, 59, is appealing to voters with a hard-right pitch on crime and immigration
www.theguardian.com
November 16, 2025 at 12:09 PM
On the eve of Chile's presidential election today, we followed the footsteps of the far-right favorite, José Antonio Kast, to its most northerly village, in the Andes www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
Reposted by Tom Phillips
3/ José Antonio Kast is polling second behind Jara, and is the likely winner of a runoff. He has campaigned on vilifying migrants, calling immigration an invasion, and proposing deportations and building barriers on the border. @tomphillips.bsky.social reports:
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
‘We need an iron fist’: the Trump-inspired favourite to win Chile’s election
José Antonio Kast, 59, is appealing to voters with a hard-right pitch on crime and immigration
www.theguardian.com
November 14, 2025 at 12:03 AM
3/ José Antonio Kast is polling second behind Jara, and is the likely winner of a runoff. He has campaigned on vilifying migrants, calling immigration an invasion, and proposing deportations and building barriers on the border. @tomphillips.bsky.social reports:
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
“An iron fist! That’s what we need! Like a Bukele!”: the ultra-conservative politician José Antonio Kast closes in on the presidency in Chile with a Trumpian pitch on crime & immigration www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
‘We need an iron fist’: the Trump-inspired favourite to win Chile’s election
José Antonio Kast, 59, is appealing to voters with a hard-right pitch on crime and immigration
www.theguardian.com
November 12, 2025 at 11:19 AM
“An iron fist! That’s what we need! Like a Bukele!”: the ultra-conservative politician José Antonio Kast closes in on the presidency in Chile with a Trumpian pitch on crime & immigration www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...
In 1988, on the eve of Just Cause, the US indicted Noriega for drug smuggling – just as they have w/ Maduro who recently had a $50m bounty put on his head. “So they’ve established a convenient pretext if they choose to pursue a military route”
US military buildup off Venezuela coast stirs echoes of 1989 Panama invasion
Some see anti-Noriega operation as model for deposing Maduro but others say US-orchestrated military coup is more likely option
www.theguardian.com
November 6, 2025 at 11:47 AM
In 1988, on the eve of Just Cause, the US indicted Noriega for drug smuggling – just as they have w/ Maduro who recently had a $50m bounty put on his head. “So they’ve established a convenient pretext if they choose to pursue a military route”
“It’s so sad to see what’s happening in our communities. It’s terrible what the people who live there are going through … Those who live in war zones will understand this pain, this despair and this revolt.”
Thousands join protests in Rio favela after deadliest ever police raid
Demonstrators demand inquiry after operation on Tuesday in which at least 121 people were killed
www.theguardian.com
November 1, 2025 at 10:30 AM
“It’s so sad to see what’s happening in our communities. It’s terrible what the people who live there are going through … Those who live in war zones will understand this pain, this despair and this revolt.”
Reposted by Tom Phillips
“In 30 years working in the favelas this is the greatest act of savagery, the biggest massacre I have seen”
Horrifying report from @tomphillips.bsky.social on Rio’s deadliest-ever police raid
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
Horrifying report from @tomphillips.bsky.social on Rio’s deadliest-ever police raid
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
‘This was a slaughter, not an operation’: the favela reeling from Rio’s deadliest police raid
Residents of Vila Cruzeiro gather bodies after more than 130 were killed in pre-dawn assault
www.theguardian.com
October 29, 2025 at 7:08 PM
“In 30 years working in the favelas this is the greatest act of savagery, the biggest massacre I have seen”
Horrifying report from @tomphillips.bsky.social on Rio’s deadliest-ever police raid
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
Horrifying report from @tomphillips.bsky.social on Rio’s deadliest-ever police raid
www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
Between 4.15am and 9am, when government body collectors finally arrived, the Guardian witnessed pick up trucks delivering dozens of corpses to a square in Vila Cruzeiro named after Saint Luke the Evangelist. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
‘This was a slaughter, not an operation’: the favela reeling from Rio’s deadliest police raid
Residents of Vila Cruzeiro gather bodies after more than 130 were killed in pre-dawn assault
www.theguardian.com
October 29, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Between 4.15am and 9am, when government body collectors finally arrived, the Guardian witnessed pick up trucks delivering dozens of corpses to a square in Vila Cruzeiro named after Saint Luke the Evangelist. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
"This doesn’t solve the problem,” said Rene Silva, from @vozdascomunidades.com.br “Rio’s crime problem needs to be combated in other places – not just in the favelas" www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
Brazil: at least 64 reported killed in Rio’s worst day of violence amid police favela raids
Governor says city ‘at war’ after gunfights between troops and Red Command drug traffickers who reportedly used weaponised drones
www.theguardian.com
October 28, 2025 at 8:59 PM
"This doesn’t solve the problem,” said Rene Silva, from @vozdascomunidades.com.br “Rio’s crime problem needs to be combated in other places – not just in the favelas" www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
“He’s not Joe Biden,” Lula’s friend and biographer, Fernando Morais, tells me. “He’s someone who has astounding physical energy, not to mention the energy of his soul”
Brazilian president will seek fourth term at age 80: ‘I’ve got as much energy as when I was 30’
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who first ran for elected office in 1982, announced he will run again in next year’s election
www.theguardian.com
October 23, 2025 at 4:31 PM
“He’s not Joe Biden,” Lula’s friend and biographer, Fernando Morais, tells me. “He’s someone who has astounding physical energy, not to mention the energy of his soul”
A Venezuela mission would not be the first in Latin America & the Caribbean conducted by the Night Stalkers, whose pilots specialise in infiltrating and exfiltrating special forces troops – called “customers” – from hostile places, nearly always at night.
US ‘Night Stalkers’ seen in Caribbean as fears of regime change rise in Venezuela
Elite helicopter unit’s part in military deployment comes as Donald Trump ramps up pressure on Nicolás Maduro
www.theguardian.com
October 22, 2025 at 1:41 PM
A Venezuela mission would not be the first in Latin America & the Caribbean conducted by the Night Stalkers, whose pilots specialise in infiltrating and exfiltrating special forces troops – called “customers” – from hostile places, nearly always at night.
Reposted by Tom Phillips
Keir Starmer will attend Cop30 in Brazil, No 10 confirms
Keir Starmer will attend Cop30 in Brazil, No 10 confirms
After speculation and conflicting pressures, prime minister will attend climate summit next month
www.theguardian.com
October 20, 2025 at 3:50 PM
Keir Starmer will attend Cop30 in Brazil, No 10 confirms
Reposted by Tom Phillips
Entrevista do diretor Kleber Mendonça Filho para o The Guardian
@kmendoncafilho.bsky.social
@theguardian.com
VIVA O CINEMA NACIONAL
@kmendoncafilho.bsky.social
@theguardian.com
VIVA O CINEMA NACIONAL
“I am very proud of what is happening in Brazil,” @kmendoncafilho.bsky.social
tells me as his incredible new film The Secret Agent hits the big screen www.theguardian.com/film/2025/oc...
tells me as his incredible new film The Secret Agent hits the big screen www.theguardian.com/film/2025/oc...
‘I hope he goes to jail’: Brazil’s Cannes-winning director on Bolsonaro and political amnesia
Kleber Mendonça Filho’s gripping thriller The Secret Agent is set in the 70s but casts light on present day politics
www.theguardian.com
October 20, 2025 at 11:55 AM
Entrevista do diretor Kleber Mendonça Filho para o The Guardian
@kmendoncafilho.bsky.social
@theguardian.com
VIVA O CINEMA NACIONAL
@kmendoncafilho.bsky.social
@theguardian.com
VIVA O CINEMA NACIONAL
“I am very proud of what is happening in Brazil,” @kmendoncafilho.bsky.social
tells me as his incredible new film The Secret Agent hits the big screen www.theguardian.com/film/2025/oc...
tells me as his incredible new film The Secret Agent hits the big screen www.theguardian.com/film/2025/oc...
‘I hope he goes to jail’: Brazil’s Cannes-winning director on Bolsonaro and political amnesia
Kleber Mendonça Filho’s gripping thriller The Secret Agent is set in the 70s but casts light on present day politics
www.theguardian.com
October 20, 2025 at 11:43 AM
“I am very proud of what is happening in Brazil,” @kmendoncafilho.bsky.social
tells me as his incredible new film The Secret Agent hits the big screen www.theguardian.com/film/2025/oc...
tells me as his incredible new film The Secret Agent hits the big screen www.theguardian.com/film/2025/oc...
“I just want to know why Donald Trump killing poor people just so,” Joseph’s uncle, known only as “Dollars”, said. “Just because he going after the people gas and their oil. He going after people riches and killing poor people children.” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
‘Trump is killing poor people’: Caribbean village mourns victim of US strike
Relatives of Trinidadian man believed killed in US military strike on alleged drug boat say he was denied due process
www.theguardian.com
October 17, 2025 at 4:24 PM
“I just want to know why Donald Trump killing poor people just so,” Joseph’s uncle, known only as “Dollars”, said. “Just because he going after the people gas and their oil. He going after people riches and killing poor people children.” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
“Since Milei took office & slashed spending, traffickers are taking advantage of rising needs, according to priests & community leaders. Gang bosses support soup kitchens, run events for children & offer jobs & loans in drive to expand their control of poor areas” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
‘Saying yes puts you in their debt’: narco gangs profit from Argentinian austerity
Drug traffickers gaining influence by stepping in and offering donations after Milei’s sweeping social cuts
www.theguardian.com
October 14, 2025 at 10:57 AM
“Since Milei took office & slashed spending, traffickers are taking advantage of rising needs, according to priests & community leaders. Gang bosses support soup kitchens, run events for children & offer jobs & loans in drive to expand their control of poor areas” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
Reposted by Tom Phillips
In Venezuela’s ‘darkest hours’, will peace prize boost opposition or backfire?
In Venezuela’s ‘darkest hours’, will peace prize boost opposition or backfire?
María Corina Machado’s Nobel award puts focus on country but analysts doubt it will produce democratic change
www.theguardian.com
October 12, 2025 at 4:26 PM
In Venezuela’s ‘darkest hours’, will peace prize boost opposition or backfire?
“Would receiving the prestigious prize advance Machado’s tenacious campaign to unseat Maduro, or could it backfire and lead to greater repression from the autocrat’s feared security forces?”
In Venezuela’s ‘darkest hours’, will peace prize boost opposition or backfire?
María Corina Machado’s Nobel award puts focus on country but analysts doubt it will produce democratic change
www.theguardian.com
October 12, 2025 at 4:30 PM
“Would receiving the prestigious prize advance Machado’s tenacious campaign to unseat Maduro, or could it backfire and lead to greater repression from the autocrat’s feared security forces?”
“It caught her totally by surprise” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
Venezuelan politician María Corina Machado wins Nobel peace prize
Opponent of Maduro regime receives award and praise for keeping ‘flame of democracy burning’
www.theguardian.com
October 10, 2025 at 4:28 PM
“It caught her totally by surprise” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
“The remark went viral and unleashed a torrent of criticism, with many comparing it to Bolsonaro’s callous and incompetent response to Covid, which killed more than 700,000 Brazilians.” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...
Brazilian governor apologies after joking about deadly methanol poisoning crisis
São Paulo’s teetotal governor, Tarcísio de Freitas, says of scandal that has killed three that he would only worry when ‘they start faking Coca-Cola’
www.theguardian.com
October 8, 2025 at 1:01 PM
“The remark went viral and unleashed a torrent of criticism, with many comparing it to Bolsonaro’s callous and incompetent response to Covid, which killed more than 700,000 Brazilians.” www.theguardian.com/world/2025/o...