Brazil’s Flávio Bolsonaro arrives in Miami after election defeat

Brazilian Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro and his ​family arrived in Miami on Wednesday, where the United States government will grant them entry visas after he refused to comply with a Brazilian Supreme Court order to surrender his passports.

Bolsonaro, who lost Sunday’s presidential election to leftist incumbent ⁠Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, left Brazil under a shroud of secrecy after the court order, which relates to a money-laundering investigation in which he denies wrongdoing.

Reuters TV images showed Bolsonaro, his wife and two daughters disembarking from the Gulfstream G400 and heading into Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport.

Their ⁠journey to the United States captured attention ​across the ⁠region. They entered northern Argentina late on Tuesday evening, according to the country’s migration department, and then took a private jet to the Ecuadorian city ⁠of Guayaquil. From there, they flew to Miami.

Neither Argentina’s presidency, Ecuadorian ministries nor Baires ​Fly, the ⁠operator of the private jet, ‌responded to requests for comment.

Bolsonaro thanked Argentine leader Javier Milei for helping him make the journey and U.S. President Donald Trump, who granted him and his family entry visas, for welcoming him.

In an initial open letter posted on X, Bolsonaro declared himself “the elected president.” He then deleted that version and updated it with another letter in which he said he was the rightful “leader” of Brazil.

“I want to say, not only to my 60 million voters but to the Brazilian people, that I am the leader and that the criminals who stole Brazil’s election are part of a criminal organization that has established a tyranny,” he said in the updated version.

Lula’s victory has been recognized by Brazil’s federal electoral court, global leaders, international observers and Bolsonaro’s own party.

Lula condemns departure

“I regret that he left Brazil, because he could have stayed here and proven that the accusations are not true,” Lula told supporters Wednesday. “This act of leaving Brazil is shameful.”

Paulo Figueiredo, a close Bolsonaro ally who lives in the U.S., said in a short statement he couldn’t confirm information from foreign authorities but that “Flávio Bolsonaro is well, in security and resting with his family.”

Bolsonaro’s campaign manager, Rogério Marinho, earlier said he hadn’t spoken to the defeated candidate since early Tuesday morning.

“We had no news from Flávio or his lawyers about what happened,” Marinho said. “I received a text message from him. He said he wanted to take a break and then he would talk to us. That’s the only message I had from him.”

Brazilian media reported many Bolsonaro allies were unable to reach him.

Fresh Brazil-U.S. rift

Bolsonaro’s departure threatens to deepen a rift between the two most populous nations in the Americas.

Lula has accused Washington of colluding with ‌the Bolsonaro family to help return them to power. ‌Ahead of Sunday’s election, Reuters reported on a State Department campaign to restore the Bolsonaros to office.

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Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he would approve of Bolsonaro coming to the United States, after his State Department ⁠said it would give them entry visas.

Trump has previously alleged that Flávio’s father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, was a victim of judicial persecution in Brazil.

Jair Bolsonaro also traveled to the United States after refusing to concede defeat to Lula in 2022, during Joe Biden’s presidency. He eventually returned to Brazil but was later sentenced to 27 years in prison for plotting a coup after supporters stormed government buildings in Brasília.

Flávio Bolsonaro had ‌been widely expected to win Sunday’s election but suffered a shock defeat.

Bolsonaro, ​who loses his immunity from prosecution when his Senate term ends in ‌February, had said on Monday after ⁠the order to hand in his passports that he had no plans to ⁠flee.

“I have never thought about leaving the country,” he said. “I will hand over my passports and ‌defend myself against this travesty, ​which is a clear attempt to intimidate ‌me.”