Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro lands in Miami with his family, days after losing Brazil’s presidential election and refusing a Supreme Court order to surrender his passports.
Bolsonaro, his wife and two daughters arrived in Miami on Wednesday, where the United States government would grant them entry visas. Reuters TV images showed the family disembarking from a Gulfstream G400 and heading into Miami’s Opa-Locka Executive Airport.
Bolsonaro lost last Sunday’s presidential election to leftist incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. He left Brazil in secrecy after the court order, which relates to a money-laundering investigation in which he denies wrongdoing.
A secret route through Argentina and Ecuador
The family’s journey to the United States drew attention across the region. They entered northern Argentina late on Tuesday evening, according to the country’s migration department, and then took a private jet to the Ecuadorean city of Guayaquil. From there, they flew to Miami.
Neither Argentina’s presidency, Ecuadorean ministries nor Baires Fly, the operator of the private jet, responded to requests for comment.
The secrecy of the departure sits uneasily with what Bolsonaro said on Monday, just after the order to hand in his passports. He said then that he had no plans to flee.
“I have never thought about leaving the country,” he said. “I will hand over my passports and defend myself against this travesty, which is a clear attempt to intimidate me.”
By Wednesday, he was in Florida.
Flavio Bolsonaro lands in Miami, deepening Brazil-US rift
Bolsonaro’s departure threatens to deepen a rift between the two most populous nations in the Americas. Lula has accused Washington of colluding with the Bolsonaro family to help return them to power. Ahead of Sunday’s election, Reuters reported on a US State Department campaign to restore the Bolsonaros to office.
President Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he would approve of Bolsonaro coming to the United States, after his State Department said it would give the family entry visas. Trump has previously alleged that Flavio’s father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, was a victim of judicial persecution in Brazil.
The episode follows a pattern set by the father. Jair Bolsonaro also travelled to the United States after refusing to concede defeat to Lula in 2022, during Joe Biden’s presidency. He eventually returned to Brazil but was later sentenced to 27 years in prison for plotting a coup after supporters stormed government buildings in Brasilia.
What happens next
Flavio Bolsonaro had been widely expected to win Sunday’s election but suffered a shock defeat. Feature Pakistan earlier reported Lula’s fourth-term election win and the neck-and-neck runoff campaign that preceded it.
One date now matters more than most. Bolsonaro loses his immunity from prosecution when his Senate term ends in February. Until then, his Senate seat shields him from arrest in Brazil, but it does not settle the money-laundering case behind the passport order.
Three questions will shape the next stage. First, whether Brazil seeks his return through formal legal channels once his immunity ends. Second, whether Washington’s visa offer hardens into longer-term protection. Third, whether Lula’s government treats the departure as a legal matter for the courts or as a political dispute with Washington.
For now, the family is in Miami, the passports remain the subject of a court order in Brasilia, and the rift between the two countries has a new cause.
Frequently asked questions
Why did Flavio Bolsonaro leave Brazil?
He left after Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered him to surrender his passports in connection with a money-laundering investigation. He denies wrongdoing and has called the case an attempt to intimidate him.
How did he reach Miami?
He entered northern Argentina late on Tuesday evening, took a private jet to Guayaquil in Ecuador, and then flew to Miami, where Reuters TV filmed the family disembarking at Opa-Locka Executive Airport.
What did Donald Trump say?
Trump said on Wednesday that he would approve of Bolsonaro coming to the United States, after the State Department said it would grant the family entry visas.
When does Bolsonaro lose his Senate immunity?
His Senate term ends in February, when he loses his immunity from prosecution in Brazil.
