Flávio Bolsonaro reportedly leaves Brazil for the US after election loss

Brazil's defeated presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro has left Brazil for the United States. The news agency Reuters reported this on Tuesday, October 27, citing two sources. The senator had earlier let a deadline set by the Supreme Court to surrender his passports expire.

A senior Federal Police official told Reuters that Bolsonaro did not leave through any regular immigration checkpoint. How he was able to leave the country despite the deadline is unclear. There was initially no official confirmation from the U.S. government, and the information could not be independently verified. The U.S. embassy and Bolsonaro's lawyer did not initially comment.

Allies speak of asylum in the US

According to allies speaking to the news portal Metrópoles, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro traveled with his wife and their two daughters. A small circle of supporters in Brazil and the U.S. reportedly organized the departure. The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump is said to be informed, and Bolsonaro reportedly intends to apply for political asylum after arriving in Florida.

Allies told the broadcaster CNN Brasil that the Trump administration approved the departure and signaled asylum, including for his wife and daughters. The main motive, they said, was fear of arrest. Bolsonaro's immunity as a senator ends with his term in February.

The spokesman for Argentina's president denied that Bolsonaro had entered Argentina or applied for asylum there. The exact route is unconfirmed.

Deadline to surrender passports expired

Justice Alexandre de Moraes of Brazil's Supreme Federal Court (STF) had ordered on Monday, October 26, that Bolsonaro surrender his passports within 24 hours, including his diplomatic passport. The order stems from investigations into money laundering and related allegations, including in connection with online gambling, the bank Banco Master and the social security agency INSS. Bolsonaro denies the allegations.

As we reported on October 26 in our story on the travel ban on Flávio Bolsonaro, the senator spoke of intimidation. On Monday, according to Reuters, he said he had never thought of leaving the country and would hand over his passports. His campaign coordinator Rogério Marinho had also previously denied that he would leave.

After the deadline expired, the Federal Police annulled the passports, according to police sources. Some in the camp of President Lula called for an international manhunt through Interpol.

Runoff defeat

Bolsonaro, the candidate of the Liberal Party (PL), lost the runoff on Sunday, October 25, to incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He has not formally conceded defeat. On Sunday, he announced that he would seek to have the result annulled over alleged irregularities. His party, however, recognized Lula's victory on Monday. Trump had said the election may have been rigged.

Jair Bolsonaro also traveled to the U.S. after he refused to concede his 2022 defeat to Lula. He later returned and was sentenced to 27 years in prison for coup plotting, after his supporters stormed government buildings in Brasília. He is currently under house arrest in Brazil.

Flávio's younger brother Eduardo Bolsonaro lives in the U.S. Before the election, he said on Steven Crowder's podcast: "If my brother doesn't win, I'm in favor of him leaving the country." According to Metrópoles, Eduardo Bolsonaro is expected to meet his brother on Wednesday, October 28.