Defeated in the Brazilian presidential election, Senator Flavio Bolsonaro has headed to the United States in defiance of a Supreme Court exit ban, raising speculation of political asylum.
Reuters reported on the 27th, citing aides to Bolsonaro and U.S. government officials, that he left Brazil and headed to the United States.
A high-ranking U.S. State Department official told Reuters that entry visas would be issued to Bolsonaro and his family. Family aides reported that he arrived in Florida, though his specific whereabouts and whether he applied for asylum have not been confirmed.
Rumors of an escape transiting through Argentina were also raised. Local media Infobae reported the same day that Bolsonaro used a Brazilian ID card to cross the border and attempted to board a charter flight to the U.S. from Puerto Iguazu, Argentina.
It was confirmed that the departure of the U.S.-bound charter flight was delayed at the airport, and Argentine authorities investigated the aircraft and crew. However, the Argentine government stated there was no immigration record of Bolsonaro entering the country and his name was not found on the flight’s passenger manifest.
Bolsonaro was defeated by President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the runoff election on the 25th. The following day, he was ordered by the Supreme Court to surrender his passport within 24 hours in connection with a money laundering investigation, but failed to comply, rendering his passport invalid. He has denied the allegations.
The Brazilian Federal Police are investigating his departure route, noting that there is no record of Bolsonaro passing through regular immigration checkpoints.
Until the previous day, Bolsonaro had stated he had no intention of leaving the country and would cooperate with the investigation, but news of his trip to the U.S. broke just a day later.
His father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, also left for the U.S. after his 2022 election defeat before returning, and was subsequently sentenced to 27 years in prison for coup plotting.
This U.S. trip and the possibility of asylum are expected to further deepen diplomatic tensions between Brazil and the United States.
