Reports say Flávio Bolsonaro leaves Brazil as US prepares visas after election defeat

Brazilian senator Flávio Bolsonaro has reportedly left the country for the United States after losing Sunday’s presidential election to incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, amid a money-laundering investigation and an unresolved order to surrender his passports. Several reports, including those cited by DW, The Guardian and France 24, said sources close to Bolsonaro’s family indicated that he was travelling to the US with his wife and daughters. A senior US State Department official confirmed that visas would be issued to Bolsonaro and his family to allow them to enter the United States.

The precise route and location remained uncertain. Reports variously said the flight would land in Miami or Dallas, that Bolsonaro had travelled through Argentina, or that he had already arrived in the US. Argentine authorities denied one report that he had entered the country, while Brazilian officials said there was no record of him leaving through a regular immigration point.

The conflicting accounts reflect the lack of an official confirmation from Brazilian authorities. DW reported that France 24 also cited a senior Federal Police official who said Bolsonaro had not exited through a regular migration point. The Guardian said Brazilian police were trying to establish with Argentine authorities whether there was a record of him entering the country.

A Supreme Court order required Bolsonaro to surrender his passports after he lost the election. Reports said the deadline passed without him appearing, and that the documents were cancelled. His lawyers and allies have disputed or complicated elements of the account, while Bolsonaro had previously posted that he never intended to leave Brazil.

The order is connected to an investigation into alleged money laundering involving betting companies. Other reports said Bolsonaro is also being investigated over alleged links to a banker and financing of a film about his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro. Flávio Bolsonaro denies wrongdoing in both cases.

Lula criticised the reported departure, calling it shameful and arguing that Bolsonaro should remain in Brazil to prove his innocence. The Workers’ Party asked the Supreme Court to order his arrest and requested that his name be placed on an Interpol Red Notice list, according to The Guardian. The supplied reports do not say that either request has been granted.

The election defeat followed a close count that ultimately gave Lula victory. Bolsonaro had said he would seek to annul the result over alleged irregularities, although his Liberal Party later acknowledged Lula’s victory. He had not formally conceded, according to France 24.

The episode adds uncertainty to the future of Brazil’s right. Jair Bolsonaro is under house arrest after being sentenced for plotting a coup, while another son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, lives in the US and faces an arrest warrant in Brazil after a conviction for lobbying the Trump administration over his father’s case. Political scientist Magna Inácio told The Guardian that the election result could leave the right’s leadership open to challenge.