Flavio Bolsonaro left Brazil after losing the presidential runoff to Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on Sunday, October 25, 2026, despite a Supreme Court ban on leaving the country, according to The Hindu. A State Department official confirmed to MercoPress that visas would be issued for Bolsonaro and his family, without specifying the type.
Brazil’s Supreme Court had banned Bolsonaro from leaving the country and ordered him to hand over his passports, as he is under investigation for alleged corruption and money laundering, The Hindu reported. Judge Alexandre de Moraes gave him 24 hours to surrender the documents, and the deadline expired at 11 a.m. Tuesday, according to MercoPress. The Federal Police then cancelled his ordinary and diplomatic passports.
Argentina’s National Directorate of Migration said Bolsonaro entered Argentina on Tuesday night with valid travel documents and no legal impediment, The Hindu reported. He then boarded a private flight with his wife and two daughters bound for Guayaquil, Ecuador. Flightradar24 data showed the flight took off just after midnight on Wednesday from Puerto Iguazu in northeastern Argentina, the same outlet reported.
Where Bolsonaro went next is disputed. U.S. media, cited by The Hindu, said he arrived in the United States on Tuesday. O Globo, cited by MercoPress, reported he arrived in Miami on Tuesday night. Straits Times, citing Reuters, reported he left for the United States. Trump said he had heard Bolsonaro was in Argentina. On October 28, Trump said he would approve of Bolsonaro coming to the United States and called the election "very strange."
The accounts also differ on the flight paperwork. The Hindu reports Argentina’s government said the flight was bound for Guayaquil. MercoPress reports that Argentina’s National Migration Directorate said its paperwork was in order but that no flight plan including the Bolsonaro family had been submitted.
Mexican lawyer Simon Levy, described as close to Trump, said Washington had authorised political asylum. The US government has not confirmed this. Argentine presidential spokesman Adrian Ravier said there had been no request for asylum, according to MercoPress.
Bolsonaro never formally recognised his defeat, although his Liberal Party accepted the result, according to MercoPress. His father, Jair Bolsonaro, travelled to Florida after losing the 2022 election and stayed there until late March 2023. Bolsonaro is also under investigation over alleged foreign financing of his campaign, linked to the Rockbridge Network and his ties to banker Daniel Vorcaro, MercoPress reported.
Several points remain unconfirmed. Baires Fly, the flight’s operator, did not immediately respond to AFP’s request for comment. The State Department did not confirm the family’s travel plans. Bolsonaro’s current location is unconfirmed, and the Miami report rests on O Globo alone. The flight data and migration statement come from a single source, The Hindu, and need confirmation from another. Bolsonaro has not commented on his departure beyond earlier saying he would hand over his passports and defend himself against "this farce."
Brazil’s Supreme Court and Federal Police investigations continue. Bolsonaro is also set to lose parliamentary immunity after his defeat, The Hindu reported. Lula begins his fourth term on January 5, 2027, according to MercoPress.
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This article was written with AI assistance from the published reporting listed above. It is part of the World Brief daily news podcast.