Flavio Bolsonaro arrives in the US after losing the election in Brazil

Arrival in Florida

Brazilian senator Flavio Bolsonaro, who lost the second round of the presidential election on October 25 to the incumbent head of state Lula da Silva, arrived in the United States together with his wife and two daughters. The plane landed at Opa-locka Airport in Florida, which is used only by the US border and customs services — before that, the politician's exact whereabouts had remained unknown for more than a day, reports euronews. Visas for Bolsonaro and his family were arranged by the US State Department; an American official, citing confidentiality laws on visa data, confirmed that the department would issue the visas and allow entry.

The route and discrepancies in reports

The departure route was reconstructed piece by piece, and there are discrepancies between publications. Argentine authorities stated that the 45-year-old senator entered the country 'with valid travel documents and without legal obstacles,' and reported that he flew with his wife and daughters on a private flight operated by Baires Fly S.A. to Guayaquil (Ecuador); after a short stop in Ecuador, the plane, according to available information, headed in an unknown direction. Meanwhile, American media outlets CNN and The Washington Post, citing anonymous sources, reported that Bolsonaro had arrived in the US as early as Tuesday, without disclosing the location. The Russian-language version of euronews describes the landing at Opa-locka, while the English-language version says he arrived 'on Wednesday at an airport in the Miami area' — the day of arrival differs between publications.

Judicial restrictions and accusations

On October 26, on the eve of his departure, Brazil's Supreme Court ordered Bolsonaro to surrender his passports to the police. He is suspected of corruption and money laundering in connection with the production of a film about his father — former president Jair Bolsonaro. The politician did not surrender the documents, and the police invalidated them. Additionally, the Supreme Court ordered an investigation into whether his election campaign received possible foreign funding. Bolsonaro himself denies all the accusations. According to euronews, he also faces the loss of parliamentary immunity following his election defeat.

Reaction in the US and election results

In the second round, Lula da Silva received 51.79% of the vote, Bolsonaro 48.21%. The senator, who had led after the first round, did not recognize the official results and demanded that they be annulled. Bolsonaro maintained close ties with Donald Trump, whom he visited at the White House in May, although Trump did not formally endorse him in the second round. When asked by journalists, Trump replied that he had no objection to granting asylum to Bolsonaro's family, calling them 'wonderful people,' and stated: 'The election was really strange, and I thought it was terrible.'