Flávio Bolsonaro and Family Land in Miami After Crossing Into Argentina and Flying Via Ecuador

Since Flávio Bolsonaro lost the runoff to Lula, the question of where he was has been answered: he and his family have landed in Miami, according to AP. The court-ordered deadline for him to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports expired at noon Tuesday, and it remains unclear whether he complied.

The route is now documented by Argentina's migration authority. It said Bolsonaro, his wife Fernanda Antunes Figueira Bolsonaro and daughters Carolina Figueira Bolsonaro and Luiza Figueira Bolsonaro crossed into Argentina at 10:50 p.m. Tuesday via the Tancredo Neves International Bridge, a primary border checkpoint linking Brazil to Argentina's northeastern province of Misiones.

The authority said on X that the four "possessed valid travel documentation and faced no legal impediments to entering the country." At 11:30 p.m. local time, shortly after clearing immigration control, they boarded a private charter flight operated by Baires Fly S.A. The filed flight plan listed Guayaquil, Ecuador as the destination.

Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 showed a plane fitting that description landing in Guayaquil at about 4 a.m. local time, then taking off minutes later for Miami's Opa Locka executive airport. AP's earlier reporting said it was not clear whether Bolsonaro was on board; AP has since reported that he and his family landed in Miami.

What Argentina said, and what it said before

The confirmation reverses earlier official denials. Javier Milei's government had said its migration authorities had no record of Bolsonaro entering the country. Officials also said the jet owner's paperwork was in order and that no flight plan involving the Bolsonaro family had been filed. On Tuesday, Milei administration spokesman Adrián Ravier said "there is no asylum request (from Bolsonaro) and there is nothing more to add."

Campaign manager Rogério Marinho had insisted Bolsonaro never left Brazil. Brazil's Federal Police ran border checks and found no record of him. Bolsonaro himself had said publicly he had no intention of leaving, and told Marinho he was "cooling his head."

The Daily Wire reported that Brazil's Federal Police canceled his regular and diplomatic passports after the deadline lapsed, and that his lawyers admitted they could not find him to hand them over.

Washington's position

A senior State Department official told CBS News and The Epoch Times that the U.S. would issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family and allow them entry. President Trump told reporters early Wednesday that he would approve of Bolsonaro coming to the U.S. and called the family "fine people." CBS reports he said, "It would be OK with me."

Speaking at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland after returning from campaigning in Texas, Trump said: "The election was really strange, and I thought it was terrible." He stressed that he did not endorse the election results. He also told reporters the election "looked like another rigged election, frankly." He offered no evidence, and said he did not endorse either candidate.

Bolsonaro's father, Jair, fled to Florida after losing the 2022 election and returned three months later. Jair is now serving a 27-year sentence under house arrest for attempting a coup following that loss. His brother Eduardo lives in Texas, was convicted in absentia in June of illegally lobbying the Trump administration and sentenced to four years in prison, and a warrant was recently issued for his arrest.

Lula's response and the Bolsonaro camp's account

Lula, who turned 81 on Tuesday, called the departure "shameful." He said: "A person who sneaks out of their country must have something to hide." He also said: "I regret that he left Brazil, because he could have stayed here and proven that the accusations are not true."

Bolsonaro is under investigation by Brazil's Supreme Court for alleged corruption, money laundering and tax evasion in two cases. In one, the court is investigating whether he used a sports betting company to launder fraudulent deductions from government pensions paid to senior citizens. In a separate case, he is accused of accepting millions of dollars from a disgraced banker. No conviction has been reported in either.

Bolsonaro's side frames the passport order differently. He blasted the officers who served him as "Lula's Federal Police." He claimed the crackdown was triggered by Eduardo publicly urging him to flee if he lost. Supporters cited by the Daily Wire say Justice Alexandre de Moraes is waging a vendetta against the Bolsonaro family.

The election itself remains a grievance for his camp. A Supreme Court justice extended voting by two hours nationwide, from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m., and Bolsonaro cited that decision in contesting the result. The Epoch Times attributes the extension to Justice Cristiano Zanin, while Breitbart and the Daily Wire attribute the ruling to a justice they describe as Lula's former lawyer or handpicked judge. His party later accepted the outcome while saying the questions raised "need to be duly clarified within a balanced and democratic political debate."

The Epoch Times reported that both candidates had asked for additional voting time. Bolsonaro asked for extra poll time in the southern region, citing heavy rain, and Lula asked for an extension after reports of transportation issues in two cities. Lula won by a margin of about 4.4 million votes, and Leaders all over the world and the Organization of American States endorsed the result.

Open questions

It is still unclear whether Bolsonaro handed over any passport before leaving. Allies said late Tuesday that he also has an Italian passport. A spokesperson for Bolsonaro did not respond to a request for comment, and Representatives of Brazil's government did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.

Paulo Figueiredo, a close Bolsonaro ally who lives in the U.S., said he cannot confirm information from foreign authorities, but added that "Flávio Bolsonaro is well, in security and resting with his family." He said there would be a press conference Thursday in Miami.

The move is almost certain to cause a big diplomatic rift between Lula and Milei, who traveled to Brazil to take part in Bolsonaro's campaign. Bolsonaro's eight-year term as a senator expires Jan. 31, 2027, which will also cause him to lose special jurisdiction at the country's Supreme Court.