Symbolic imageFlávio Bolsonaro reaches Miami after leaving Brazil despite passport order
Brazil's defeated candidate flew to Florida via Argentina and Ecuador, and the US granted visas. President Lula called his departure shameful.
Flávio Bolsonaro, who lost the run-off to Lula on Sunday, 25 October, crossed into Argentina with his wife and two daughters late on Tuesday, 27 October, according to Argentina's migration authority. A private jet took them via Guayaquil to Miami, where Reuters TV showed them arriving on Wednesday. He had let a Supreme Court deadline to surrender his passports lapse, and federal police then annulled his Brazilian and diplomatic passports. A senior State Department official said the family would receive visas, and Trump told reporters: "Well, I would approve." Lula said Bolsonaro should have stayed to prove his innocence.
Investigations behind the exit
Federal police are examining whether Bolsonaro was involved in alleged money laundering by his friend, the lawyer Willer Tomaz, and payments by jailed banker Daniel Vorcaro for a film on Jair Bolsonaro. He denies wrongdoing. His Senate term ends in late January, which removes his parliamentary protection, FAZ notes.
Contradictory travel claims
On Tuesday, aides told media he was already in the US, which the documented route contradicted; FAZ says it is unclear whether this was deliberate. FAZ also reports he may seek political asylum, though the State Department statement did not mention it.