Flávio Bolsonaro leaves Brazil for US, ally says

Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro has left the country for the United States, an ally told Reuters on Tuesday, October 27, confirming an earlier media report. Hours before, Brazilian authorities cancelled his passports when he missed a Supreme Court deadline to hand them in. A source told Reuters he travelled with his wife and two daughters, The Independent reported.reuters.com+1

The reported departure came two days after the right-wing senator lost Sunday's presidential runoff to incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. It has raised concerns that he is following his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, who moved to the United States after losing to Lula in 2022 and was later sentenced to 27 years in prison for plotting a coup, France 24 reported.france24.com

Missed passport deadline

On Monday, Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes gave Bolsonaro 24 hours to hand over his passports. He is under investigation for alleged corruption, money laundering and currency evasion, all of which he denies, according to CNN. Two federal police sources said the documents were cancelled once the deadline passed. In an Instagram video on Monday, Bolsonaro said he had been barred from leaving Brazil and denied any plan to flee. By Tuesday morning, calls to his phone were getting an out-of-service message, The Washington Post reported.cnn.com+2

Questions over Argentina route

Argentine outlet Infobae reported that Bolsonaro arrived in Puerto Iguazú at 2 a.m. on Tuesday using his national ID card and planned to fly on to the United States in a private Gulfstream jet, according to Euronews. Brazil's Federal Police contacted Argentine authorities to check that account. Police sources said he had not passed through any official Brazilian border checkpoint, though he could have crossed without being checked.euronews.com

Argentina's government said it had no record of him entering the country. Officials who inspected the plane at Iguazú International Airport found no flight plan listing the Bolsonaro family. A spokesperson for President Javier Milei said, "There is no asylum request".france24.com

Denials from his camp

Rogério Marinho, Bolsonaro's campaign coordinator, denied that he had left Brazil. His brother Eduardo, who lives in Texas, called the reports a "lie". On October 23, before the vote, Eduardo had told podcaster Steven Crowder, "If my brother does not win, I'm in favor that he would leave the country".cnn.com+2

Lula won 51.79% of the vote to Bolsonaro's 48.21%. Bolsonaro first said he would seek to have the result annulled, but his Liberal Party acknowledged Lula's victory on Monday. Also on Monday, US President Donald Trump said the election looked "rigged," without giving evidence.euronews.com+1