Flávio Bolsonaro arrived in the United States alongside his family early Wednesday, landing at Opa-locka Executive Airport near Miami aboard a private flight after crossing from Brazil into Argentina. Uniformed officers carrying large umbrellas escorted the group to a waiting vehicle, obstructing views from assembled media outlets.
The journey capped a tense 72-hour period following Bolsonaro’s defeat in Sunday’s presidential runoff election against incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who secured victory by a margin of more than four million votes following an initial leading result in the first round three weeks prior. Although Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party acknowledged the election outcome, Bolsonaro himself has refused to concede.
Argentina’s migration authority confirmed that Bolsonaro, accompanied by family members Fernanda Antunes Figueira Bolsonaro, Carolina Figueira Bolsonaro, and Luiza Figueira Bolsonaro, crossed the border late Tuesday via the Tancredo Neves International Bridge in the province of Misiones using valid travel documentation and without facing legal entry barriers. Argentine records indicate the group subsequently boarded a private flight bound for Guayaquil, Ecuador, at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday before continuing onward to Florida.
In his first public statement since departing Brazil, posted to social media platform X, Bolsonaro addressed the Brazilian public and international community while declaring himself the nation’s “president-elect.” He thanked Argentine President Javier Milei for his support and U.S. President Donald Trump for welcoming him, while drawing comparisons between his situation and historical figures who went into exile, including Charles de Gaulle, José Martí, and María Corina Machado. He asserted that leaving his homeland had never been his original intention, characterizing the circumstances as the “classic playbook of any coup d’état” and accusing the Lula administration of electoral fraud and political persecution. He subsequently edited the posts to refer to himself simply as “leader.”
The departure occurred despite legal pressure inside Brazil. On Monday, Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered Bolsonaro to surrender his passports within 24 hours and prohibited him from leaving the country as he faces multiple ongoing investigations, including allegations of money laundering and tax evasion, which he denies. In a video released Monday, Bolsonaro claimed federal police officers intercepted him outside the residence of his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro—who is currently under house arrest following a 27-year prison sentence for plotting a coup after his own 2022 election defeat against Lula—and demanded his travel documents. Bolsonaro stated in the video that he intended to surrender his passports and fight what he termed an “aberration” intended to intimidate him. However, political allies, lawyers, and campaign managers initially reported they did not know his whereabouts before reports emerged of his departure.
Ahead of the arrival, a senior U.S. administration official stated on Tuesday that the State Department would issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family, facilitating their entry into the United States. President Trump publicly questioned the legitimacy of Brazil’s electoral outcome, alleging without evidence during a Monday statement that the election was “rigged” and returning to the topic during a Tuesday night rally in Texas. U.S. President Trump remarked that Brazil’s election “didn’t look very good” while comparing domestic political disputes.
President Lula criticized the departure on Tuesday during celebrations for his 81st birthday in Brasília, describing the exit as “shameful” and asserting that individuals with nothing to hide should remain to face scrutiny. Lula added that he regretted the departure and targeted the Bolsonaro family’s alignment with Washington, remarking that Brazil appeared to be their secondary residence while the United States remained their primary home.
