Brazil's Defeated Candidate Lands in Miami
Flávio Bolsonaro, who lost Brazil's presidential runoff, reached Florida by way of Argentina and Ecuador after Brazilian authorities canceled his passports, and the United States granted him and his family visas.
Flávio Bolsonaro, the Brazilian senator who lost the presidential runoff to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, landed at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport with his wife and two daughters. The United States had granted the family visas. Brazil's Supreme Court had ordered him to hand over his passports and barred him from leaving the country as part of two investigations into him; he denies wrongdoing, according to the BBC. When he missed the deadline, Brazilian authorities canceled the documents. Argentina's migration agency said the family crossed into Argentina by land with valid travel documents and boarded a private jet for Guayaquil, Ecuador, which refueled there and flew on to Miami. In a statement after landing, Bolsonaro thanked Argentine President Javier Milei and President Donald Trump and repeated claims of electoral fraud, for which he offered no evidence. Brazil's Superior Electoral Court put the result at 51.79% for Lula and 48.21% for Bolsonaro. It is not yet known how long he plans to stay in the United States.
The route out
Argentina's National Directorate of Migration said Bolsonaro, his wife, Fernanda, and their two daughters crossed the Tancredo Neves International Bridge into Misiones province at 10:50 p.m. Tuesday, local time, presenting valid travel documents and facing no legal impediment, Agência Brasil and AFP reported. The agency said they then boarded a private plane operated by Baires Fly bound for Guayaquil.
The jet took off from Puerto Iguazú, Argentina, according to flight-tracking data cited by AFP and the BBC. AFP reporters in Guayaquil said it refueled there and left again about half an hour later. It landed in Miami on Wednesday morning, where photographers caught the family stepping off the plane, according to the BBC, CBS News Miami and UOL.
Earlier on Tuesday, Argentine government sources had said they had no record of him entering the country, the BBC and AFP reported. His whereabouts were unclear for more than a day.
The passports
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered Bolsonaro to surrender his passports to the Federal Police and barred him from leaving Brazil, according to UOL and AFP. When he did not hand them over by Tuesday's deadline, the Federal Police canceled them, Agência Brasil and the BBC reported.
Bolsonaro is under investigation in two cases before Brazil's Supreme Court. One concerns the financing of "Dark Horse," a film about his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro; the other concerns alleged money laundering, according to the BBC and Agência Brasil. He denies wrongdoing in both, according to the BBC.
The welcome
The Trump administration granted visas to Bolsonaro and his family, the BBC and CBS News Miami reported. In his statement, Bolsonaro thanked Milei and Trump, and described himself as the rightful winner of the election, the BBC and CBS News Miami reported. Lula criticized his rival's departure, according to the BBC and AFP.
An ally of Bolsonaro said he would hold a news conference in Miami, according to UOL and CBS News Miami; a time and place had not been announced.
The election
Bolsonaro led after the first round, but Lula won Sunday's runoff by more than 4 million votes, according to the BBC, AFP and Agência Brasil. Brazil's Superior Electoral Court put the result at 51.79% for Lula and 48.21% for Bolsonaro, UOL and Xinhua reported.
Bolsonaro's brother Eduardo, a former congressman, already lives in the United States, and their father went to Florida in December 2022, before Lula's inauguration, according to the BBC, AFP and Agência Brasil.