Flávio Bolsonaro departs Brazil for Miami via Argentina and Ecuador

Flávio Bolsonaro, the defeated candidate in Brazil’s presidential election, left the country with his wife and two daughters, heading to the United States through Argentina and Ecuador. Argentine migration officials confirmed that the group crossed the border at 10:50 p.m. local time on Tuesday. They entered Argentina via the Tancredo Neves International Bridge, a primary checkpoint connecting Brazil to the northeastern province of Misiones. The officials stated that the four possessed valid travel documents and faced no legal barriers to entry.

At 11:30 p.m., the family boarded a private charter flight operated by Baires Fly S.A. Flight tracking data from FlightRadar24 indicated the aircraft landed in Guayaquil, Ecuador, around 4 a.m. before departing for Opa Locka executive airport in Miami. The U.S. government had granted the family visas the day prior to their departure. President Donald Trump said early Wednesday that he approved of Bolsonaro’s arrival, describing the family as fine people. Trump characterized the recent Brazilian election as strange and stated he did not endorse the results, though he did not elaborate further.

The move places Flávio Bolsonaro in the midst of a diplomatic dispute. President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who won reelection by a margin of roughly 4.4 million votes, spoke to supporters in Brasília on Tuesday. Lula noted that he did not have precise information on Bolsonaro’s location but confirmed the former senator had left the country. Lula called the act shameful, suggesting Bolsonaro could have stayed in Brazil to disprove the accusations against him. Argentine President Javier Milei had traveled to Brazil to support Bolsonaro’s campaign, adding tension to the relationship between the two leaders.

Bolsonaro is under investigation by Brazil’s Supreme Court for alleged corruption, money laundering, and tax evasion. In one case, he is accused of using a sports betting company to launder fraudulent deductions from government pensions. In a separate matter, he is accused of accepting millions of dollars from a banker. The court ordered him to hand over his regular and diplomatic passports by noon Tuesday. Bolsonaro received the order outside the home where his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, is serving a 27-year sentence under house arrest. Flávio Bolsonaro said in a video on Monday that he was organizing opposition among congressional colleagues to the election results. His term as a senator expires on Jan. 31, 2027, at which point he will lose special jurisdiction at the Supreme Court.

Argentine lawmakers have already reacted to the transit. Lawmaker Marcela Pagano filed a suit in a federal court in Puerto Iguazu on Tuesday. She requested an investigation into the government for people smuggling and abuse of authority. Pagano argued that if Bolsonaro entered Argentina, someone facilitated the entry, and she asserted that the border is not a VIP runway for anyone. The administration of Javier Milei, through spokesman Adrián Ravier, stated on Tuesday that there was no asylum request from Bolsonaro and offered no further details. Representatives from both the Brazilian government and Bolsonaro’s camp did not immediately respond to requests for comment.