Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro has left Brazil for the United States days after losing the presidential election to incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter.
The move came after Bolsonaro failed to comply with a Supreme Court order requiring him to surrender his passports as part of an ongoing money laundering investigation in which he denies wrongdoing.
Sources said Bolsonaro travelled with his wife and two daughters. While his precise location remained unclear, one person close to the family said he had arrived in Florida.
A senior U.S. State Department official said Washington would grant entry visas to Bolsonaro and his family, allowing them to enter the United States.
The controversy escalated after Alexandre de Moraes, a justice of Brazil's Supreme Federal Court, ordered Bolsonaro to hand over his passports within 24 hours.
The ruling was linked to an investigation into suspected money laundering and currency-related offences involving financial transactions connected to lawyer Willer Tomaz, an associate of Bolsonaro.
The senator is also facing scrutiny in a separate investigation examining financing linked to Dark Horse, a biographical film about his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro.
Authorities are investigating alleged payments involving Daniel Vorcaro, the former owner of the now-defunct financial institution Banco Master.
The court cited concerns that Bolsonaro could flee the country and pointed to what it described as his significant financial resources in ordering the seizure of his travel documents.
On Monday, Bolsonaro publicly insisted he had no intention of leaving Brazil.
“I have never thought about leaving the country. I will hand over my passports and defend myself against this travesty, which is a clear attempt to intimidate me,” he said.
However, two sources familiar with the case said the deadline expired without compliance and that authorities subsequently cancelled both his regular and diplomatic passports.
Reports about Bolsonaro's movements emerged throughout Tuesday.
Brazilian outlet Globo cited sources saying he had departed the country with his family, while Argentine media reported that he may have crossed into Argentina by land using a national identity card before planning to board a private jet bound for Miami.
Attention focused on a Gulfstream G400 registered in Argentina that arrived at Puerto Iguazú near the Brazilian border. The aircraft was reportedly expected to fly to the United States but remained grounded before the planned departure.
Argentine migration authorities later said they had no record of Bolsonaro entering the country. They also said no flight plan had been submitted listing members of his family among the passengers.
Brazilian federal police similarly reported no official record of his departure and launched efforts to examine border crossings and flight data to determine how he may have left.
Authorities in Brazil and Argentina were still trying to determine whether Bolsonaro had crossed the border and, if so, by what route.
President Lula reacted sharply after learning of Bolsonaro's apparent departure.
Speaking in Brasília, he said his defeated rival should have remained in the country and answered the allegations against him.
“This is what the Bolsonaro family is like. Brazil is their second nation, the U.S. is the first,” Lula said.
He added:
“I regret that he left Brazil. He could have stayed and proven that the accusations are not true.”
The remarks came as Bolsonaro continued to contest the election result despite his party's formal recognition of Lula's victory.
Lula secured a historic fourth, non-consecutive presidential term after defeating Bolsonaro in Sunday's runoff election.
Official results showed Lula winning approximately 51.8 per cent of valid votes, while Bolsonaro received around 48.2 per cent.
Despite the outcome, Bolsonaro has refused to concede. He has alleged irregularities in the electoral process and pledged to seek annulment of the vote through legal channels.
“It is impossible to recognise the elections under these conditions. I am going to request that these elections be annulled,” Bolsonaro said.
His position places him at odds with his own political party.
On Monday, the Liberal Party (PL) formally recognised Lula's victory. Party president Valdemar Costa Neto said the party accepted the results certified by Brazil's electoral authorities while continuing to raise concerns about pre-election government spending through institutional channels.
The statement stopped short of endorsing Bolsonaro's demand for the election to be voided.
Meanwhile, Kassio Nunes Marques, president of the Superior Electoral Court and a Supreme Court justice appointed by Jair Bolsonaro, expressed confidence in the integrity of the electoral process, rejecting speculation about irregularities in the voting system.
The latest developments have drawn comparisons with events following the 2022 presidential election when Jair Bolsonaro travelled to the United States after losing to Lula and initially declining to recognise the result.
The former president later returned to Brazil and was subsequently sentenced to 27 years in prison after being convicted in a case linked to an alleged coup plot following his 2022 election defeat. He is currently serving the sentence under house arrest.
Flavio Bolsonaro's departure comes amid renewed scrutiny of relations between Brazil and the United States following the election.
U.S. President Donald Trump questioned the conduct of Sunday's vote, describing it as appearing “rigged” and “corrupt” without presenting evidence to support the claims.
“Elections have to be indisputable, and it looked very bad to me,” Trump told reporters.
At the same time, Trump said he maintained a good personal relationship with Lula.
“I'm not running Brazil. I'm running the U.S. I like Lula. I get along with him very well,” he said.
With Bolsonaro's whereabouts not officially confirmed and authorities still examining how he may have departed Brazil, the case has added another layer of uncertainty to an already contentious post-election period.
Uzbekistan has launched Apple Pay and Google Pay, allowing customers at several local banks to make contactless payments using their smartphones an...
Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro has left Brazil for the United States days after losing the presidential ele...
Thousands of demonstrators gathered outside Portugal's parliament on Tuesday to demand action on the country's worsening housing crisis and...
Russia and Ukraine have begun a regional ceasefire to allow the start of a humanitarian effort in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky, both sides said on Tuesday, but they continue strikes elsewhere, including the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.
Serbia's Aleksandar Vučić has conceded defeat after a student-led protest movement took the majority of seats in Sunday's parliamentary elections.
Russian strikes hit several parts of Ukraine overnight, injuring at least six people and targeting energy and port infrastructure, as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said U.S. warnings about imminent Russian ballistic missile attacks had resumed.
Nearly two years after the 20 October 2024 parliamentary elections, Iraq’s Kurdistan Region remains without a cabinet. The Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) won 39 of 100 seats and the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) 23, leaving neither able to govern alone.
Israel's election appeared headed for a prolonged political standoff on Tuesday after exit polls suggested neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his main challenger, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, had secured a clear path to a parliamentary majority.
Thousands of demonstrators gathered outside Portugal's parliament on Tuesday to demand action on the country's worsening housing crisis and to protest recent police operations targeting housing activists, as lawmakers opened debate on the government's proposed 2027 budget.
Israel's election appeared headed for a prolonged political standoff on Tuesday after exit polls suggested neither Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu nor his main challenger, former military chief Gadi Eisenkot, had secured a clear path to a parliamentary majority.
Russia and Ukraine have begun a regional ceasefire to allow the start of a humanitarian effort in the Russian-occupied town of Oleshky, both sides said on Tuesday, but they continue strikes elsewhere, including the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has urged gas producers to boost global supplies and invest in infrastructure, while signalling potential energy cooperation with U.S. partners during a major gas summit in Moscow on Tuesday.
Hundreds of people rallied in Paris on Monday (26 October) against racism and the far right following a deadly shooting last week that authorities have described as “terrorist and racist”.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment