From refusing to concede defeat to crossing into Argentina under cover of a private flight plan and travelling through Ecuador before landing in Miami, Brazilian senator Flavio Bolsonaro’s journey to the United States unfolded over a frantic 72 hours. The 45-year-old arrived in Florida on Wednesday with his wife and two daughters, days after losing the presidential runoff to incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and amid mounting uncertainty over his whereabouts.The journey came as Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered Bolsonaro to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports in connection with investigations into alleged corruption, money laundering and tax evasion. Bolsonaro has denied wrongdoing. US officials, meanwhile, confirmed that Washington would issue visas to him and his family, with President Donald Trump saying he would have approved their entry.Here is how Bolsonaro’s journey unfolded, from his election defeat on Sunday to his arrival in Miami on Wednesday.
Sunday: Election defeat and refusal to concede
Bolsonaro lost the presidential runoff to Lula, securing around 48% of the vote against his rival’s 52%. Despite entering the second round after leading the first-round vote, he failed to secure the majority required to win the presidency.He refused to concede defeat and threatened to seek the annulment of the result, questioning a decision to extend voting hours at some polling stations. His challenge came even as several world leaders recognised Lula’s victory.Monday: Supreme Court orders passports surrenderedBolsonaro said in a social media video that federal police had served him with an order to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports. The notice was delivered outside the home where his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, is serving a 27-year sentence under house arrest for attempting a coup after losing the 2022 election.Flavio Bolsonaro said he would comply with the order and rejected speculation that he planned to flee Brazil. However, the deadline to surrender the documents was set for noon on Tuesday, adding urgency to the unfolding situation.
Tuesday: Where is Flavio Bolsonaro?
As the deadline passed, reports about Bolsonaro’s whereabouts began to conflict. Argentine news outlet Infobae reported that he had left Brazil for Argentina and was preparing to travel to the US by private jet.Argentine migration authorities initially said they had no record of him entering the country. Meanwhile, CNN Brasil and other media outlets reported that the senator had travelled to the US, with sources cited by Reuters also indicating that he was heading there.A senior US State Department official subsequently confirmed that Bolsonaro and his family would be issued visas and allowed to enter the country. Trump also questioned Brazil’s election, describing it as “very strange” and saying he thought it was “terrible”.Lula criticised Bolsonaro’s departure, describing it as “shameful”.
Wednesday: Argentina, Ecuador and finally Miami
The journey became clearer after Argentine migration authorities said Bolsonaro, his wife, Fernanda Antunes Figueira Bolsonaro, and their daughters, Carolina and Luiza, entered Argentina at around 10.50pm local time on Tuesday. They crossed the Tancredo Neves International Bridge, linking Brazil with Argentina’s Misiones province.According to the authorities, the family then boarded a private charter operated by Baires Fly SA, whose filed flight plan listed Guayaquil, Ecuador, as the destination.Flight-tracking data showed the aircraft arriving in Guayaquil early on Wednesday before departing for Miami’s Opa-locka Executive Airport. The plane landed in Florida at around 10.31am Brasilia time, with Reuters TV images showing Bolsonaro disembarking alongside his wife and daughters.The route through Argentina and Ecuador resolved much of the confusion over his whereabouts, although it also raised questions about his decision to leave Brazil after the election and amid the passport order.
Why did Bolsonaro leave Brazil?
Bolsonaro is under investigation by Brazil’s Supreme Court in two cases involving alleged corruption, money laundering and tax evasion. He has denied wrongdoing and has not been charged in the cases.His eight-year Senate term expires on January 31, 2027, after which he will lose the special jurisdiction that allows cases involving him to be heard by the Supreme Court.His departure also carries political implications beyond Brazil. His brother, Eduardo Bolsonaro, lives in Texas and had publicly urged him to leave the country if he lost the election. Trump has expressed support for allowing the family into the US, while Argentina’s President Javier Milei had campaigned for Flavio Bolsonaro during the Brazilian election.For a candidate who had insisted he would remain in Brazil to lead the opposition, the journey from election defeat to Miami marked a dramatic turn in less than three days.