Defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro and his family landed in Miami on Wednesday after crossing into Argentina and flying via Ecuador, following a Supreme Court order to surrender his passports.
Brazilian Senator Flávio Bolsonaro and his family arrived in Miami on Wednesday after fleeing Brazil via Argentina and Ecuador, days after he lost the presidential runoff to incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
The group entered northern Argentina late on Tuesday evening through the Tancredo Neves International Bridge, according to Argentina’s National Directorate of Migration, which confirmed they held valid travel documents. They then boarded a private Gulfstream G400 operated by Baires Fly that stopped in Guayaquil, Ecuador, before landing at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport around 9:30 a.m. local time. Reuters images showed Bolsonaro, his wife Fernanda, and their two daughters disembarking.
The departure followed a Brazilian Supreme Court order, issued by Justice Alexandre de Moraes, requiring Bolsonaro to surrender his passports as part of an investigation into alleged money laundering, which he has denied. Brazilian federal police later canceled the documents after he missed the deadline.
A senior U.S. State Department official confirmed that the United States would issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family and allow their entry. President Donald Trump told reporters he would approve of the arrival, calling the Brazilian election “very strange.” Lula has previously described such moves as shameful and accused Washington of collusion with the Bolsonaro family.
The arrival marks a concrete escalation from Bolsonaro’s earlier refusal to concede and his party’s formal concession of the election result. Allies have said he plans a news conference in Miami on Thursday. The next developments will depend on any formal asylum or longer-term stay requests he may file, and on how Brazilian authorities respond to his absence while under investigation.
People Sentiments Public Mood: Negative
- Trump: would approve of Bolsonaro coming to the United States
- Lula: departure is shameful
- State Department official: will issue visas and allow entry