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Flávio Bolsonaro, a losing candidate in Brazil’s presidential election, has landed in the United States after fleeing his home country where he is under investigation for corruption and money laundering, according to sources briefed on the matter.
The right-wing politician and son of imprisoned ex-President Jair Bolsonaro arrived in Florida on Tuesday evening, a source said. He then met his brother Eduardo Bolsonaro, already in voluntary exile in the United States.
A Supreme Court judge imposed a travel ban on Bolsonaro after his failed election campaign against incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The court order to stay in Brazil was linked to ongoing criminal investigations and came hours after Lula’s surprise re-election Sunday night, when the left-wing party won a close runoff by 51.8 to 48.2 percent.
Brazilian federal police canceled Bolsonaro’s passports after he failed to meet a deadline to return travel documents Tuesday morning. The Allies later said they were unable to contact him, as questions mounted about his whereabouts throughout the day.
Bolsonaro entered northeastern Argentina on Tuesday and boarded a private flight to Ecuador, Argentina’s migration department said.
Its presence in the United States risks worsening the already tense relations between Brasilia and Washington. An ally said his wife and two daughters had also left Brazil.
The Trump administration, which has yet to officially recognize Lula’s victory, announced Tuesday that it would grant a visa to Bolsonaro, whose father, Jair Bolsonaro, was an ally of the Republican president when he was in power.
Brazil’s presidential vote was marred by controversy after a Supreme Court judge ruled a last-minute extension of the vote by two hours following a request from Lula’s Workers’ Party, amid complaints about public transportation problems.
After the result, Bolsonaro criticized the decision, even though his own liberal party had requested that polling stations remain open in some areas hit by heavy rain. On Monday, US President Donald Trump echoed those criticisms, saying there were signs the election had been “rigged.” Trump also said he had heard Bolsonaro was in Argentina and would “approve” of him coming to the United States.
Bolsonaro’s legal troubles stem from two separate police investigations. One concerns his ties to the alleged mastermind of a $10 billion banking collapse. The other concerns suspected money laundering involving Bolsonaro and a friend. He denies any wrongdoing.
Supporters say the defeated presidential candidate is the victim of political persecution. The Supreme Court judge who demanded Bolsonaro’s passport, Alexandre de Moraes, also convicted his father last year and is a hate figure for the Brazilian right.
The elder Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year prison sentence, currently at home for health reasons, for plotting a coup after losing the election to Lula in 2022. Eduardo Bolsonaro was convicted this year of trying to interfere in his father’s trial and currently lives in Texas.
Rogério Marinho, a senator who coordinated Bolsonaro’s campaign, said he had not been informed of the candidate’s decision to flee the country and was surprised. But he says he “understood” it because “a series of abuses were committed against citizens”.
Marinho said federal police filed a passport application for Bolsonaro just seven minutes after the election results were announced.
Lula, who celebrated his 81st birthday on Tuesday, said Bolsonaro’s departure was “shameful.” “What kind of guilty conscience must a citizen have when they have just lost an election and have to leave the country,” he said, adding that the Bolsonaro family treated Brazil as if it were a “second home.”
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