Flávio Bolsonaro Arrives in Miami After Crossing into Argentina
The defeated senator and his family left Brazil for the United States after the Supreme Court ordered them to hand over their passports.
By Carmen Wojcik ·
Flávio Bolsonaro, the defeated Brazilian presidential candidate, landed in Miami on Wednesday morning after leaving the country.
The senator, his wife, and two daughters departed Brazil just hours after the Supreme Court ordered them to surrender their passports. The move followed a refusal to concede defeat to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and a threat to challenge the election outcome.
Brazilian President Lula defeated Bolsonaro in the second round of voting by a margin of roughly 4.4 million votes. The Organization of American States and world leaders endorsed the result, congratulating Lula on his reelection. Bolsonaro's father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, previously fled to Florida after losing the 2022 election before returning to Brazil three months later.
The flight path began at the Tancredo Neves International Bridge, a border checkpoint linking Brazil and Argentina. Argentine migration authorities reported that the family crossed into the Misiones province at 10:50 p.m. on Tuesday. They possessed valid travel documents and faced no legal barriers to entry. The authority noted that the group boarded a private charter flight operated by Baires Fly S.A. at 11:30 p.m. local time.
The aircraft flew to Guayaquil, Ecuador, before heading to the United States. Flight tracking data indicated the plane touched down in Guayaquil around 4 a.m. local time. It took off minutes later for the Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport. The group landed in Miami at approximately 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time.
The Trump administration granted visas to Bolsonaro and his family on Monday. President Donald Trump said early Wednesday that he approved of their arrival. He described them as fine people and called the election strange and terrible. Trump did not endorse the result but stated he thought it was bad. Bolsonaro is a Trump ally who visited the White House in May.
Bolsonaro is currently under investigation by Brazil's Supreme Court for alleged corruption, money laundering, and tax evasion. The court ordered him to hand over his regular and diplomatic passports by noon on Tuesday. Allies said late Tuesday that he also holds an Italian passport. It remained unclear whether he had complied with the surrender order. Bolsonaro said in a video on Monday that he was organizing opposition among congressional colleagues to the election results.
His eight-year term as a senator expires on January 31, 2027. That date will also end his special jurisdiction at the Supreme Court. Bolsonaro visited his father, who is serving a 27-year sentence under house arrest for attempting a coup, before leaving Brazil. The former president is currently under house arrest.
Paulo Figueiredo, a close ally who lives in the United States, confirmed that Bolsonaro is well, in security, and resting with his family. Figueiredo stated that a press conference is scheduled for Thursday in Miami to discuss the case. Representatives of the Brazilian government did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Lula told supporters outside the presidential residence in Brasilia that he did not have precise information about Bolsonaro's location but knew he had left. The 81-year-old president called the departure shameful. He said he regretted that Bolsonaro left because he could have stayed to prove the accusations were not true. Argentine President Javier Milei's administration stated there was no asylum request from Bolsonaro.
