Defeated presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro and his family land in Miami after fleeing Brazil
MIAMI (AP) — Defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro and his family arrived in Miami on Wednesday, after he refused to concede to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva then fled the country.
In a circuitous journey, Bolsonaro left for Argentina on Tuesday with his wife and two daughters, then traveled to Ecuador, according to Argentina officials and flight data. The 45-year-old senator and his family arrived in Florida a day after the Trump administration granted them United States visas. Bolsonaro, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, visited the White House in May.
Bolsonaro’s father, Jair Bolsonaro, also fled to Florida after losing the 2022 presidential election to Lula before returning to Brazil three months later.
Flávio Bolsonaro is under investigation by Brazil’s Supreme Court, accused of corruption, money laundering and tax evasion. The court had ordered him to hand over his regular and diplomatic passports by noon Tuesday. It remained unclear whether he had complied, but allies said late Tuesday he also has an Italian passport.
Dressed casually in a dark polo shirt and flanked by his wife and two daughters, Bolsonaro stepped out of the plane shortly after it landed in Miami at around 9:30 a.m. EDT. Florida is home to the largest population of Brazilians in the U.S.
Bolsonaro, his wife Fernanda Antunes Figueira Bolsonaro, and his daughters Carolina Figueira Bolsonaro and Luiza Figueira Bolsonaro fled Brazil on Tuesday. Argentina's migration authority said the family entered Argentina’s northeastern province of Misiones with valid travel documentation at 10:50 p.m. Tuesday via the Tancredo Neves International Bridge, a primary border checkpoint.
Within an hour, they boarded a private charter plane, the authority said.
Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 showed a plane fitting the description of Bolsonaro’s landed in Guayaquil at about 4 a.m. local time, then took off minutes later for Miami-Opa locka Executive Airport.
Before the family landed in Florida, Lula, who turned 81 on Tuesday, spoke to dozens of supporters outside the presidential residence in Brasilia.
“I regret that he left Brazil, because he could have stayed here and proven that the accusations are not true,” Lula said. “This act of leaving Brazil is shameful.”
Paulo Figueiredo, a close Bolsonaro ally who lives in the U.S., said in a short statement he couldn't confirm information from foreign authorities but that “Flávio Bolsonaro is well, in security and resting with his family.”
That Bolsonaro traveled via Argentina is almost certain to cause a diplomatic rift between Lula and Argentine President Javier Milei, another Trump ally who traveled to Brazil to take part in Bolsonaro’s campaign.
Representatives of Brazil's government didn't immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.
Trump said early Wednesday that he would approve of Bolsonaro coming to the U.S., calling him and his family “fine people.”
“The election was really strange, and I thought it was terrible,” Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, after campaigning in Texas on Tuesday. He did not elaborate but stressed he didn't endorse the election result.
Leaders all over the world and the Organization of American States have endorsed the result and congratulated Lula, who was reelected by a margin of about 4.4 million votes in the second and final round.
The defeated candidate was served with a Supreme Court order to surrender his Brazilian passports Monday. In a video, he said he received it outside the home where his father is serving a 27-year sentence under house arrest for his attempted coup following his 2022 election loss to Lula.
A Brazilian diplomat who was not authorized to speak about the matter publicly told The Associated Press that Bolsonaro used an Italian passport to enter Argentina and did not leave records in Brazilian check points, as they are not required to exit.
The diplomat said Brazil’s federal police were not monitoring Bolsonaro when he left his home in Brasilia because the Supreme Court has not issued a warrant for his arrest.
Flávio Bolsonaro said in a video Monday that he was attempting to organize opposition to the election results among his congressional colleagues. His eight-year term as a senator expires Jan. 31, 2027.
Brazil's Supreme Court is investigating Bolsonaro for allegedly using a sports betting company to launder fraudulent deductions from government pensions paid to senior citizens. In a separate case, he is accused of accepting millions of dollars from a disgraced banker.
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Mauricio Savarese reported from Sao Paulo.
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