Brazil’s Flavio Bolsonaro Arrives in Miami After Fleeing the Country Following Election Loss

Defeated Brazilian politician Flavio Bolsonaro has arrived in the U.S. after fleeing the country following his electoral defeat on Sunday.

Bolsonaro had been ordered by the Supreme Court to surrender his passport over different allegations, including corruption, money laundering and tax evasion.

However, he left the country for Argentina and then Ecuador along with his immediate family before landing in Miami. The Trump administration said it would grant visas to all of them.

Argentine authorities said Bolsonaro and his family entered the country on Tuesday night and had "valid travel documentation," meaning they "faced no legal impediments to entering the country."

Elected President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva reacted to the development, saying: "I regret that he left Brazil, because he could have stayed here and proven that the accusations are not true." He also called him leaving Brazil "shameful."

President Donald Trump, an ally of Bolsonaro, suggested on Monday that the election was "rigged," setting himself apart from world leaders who have congratulated President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on his reelection. Bolsonaro has refused to concede but his party has done so.

Asked about the vote, Trump told reporters it looked like "another rigged election." He said elections must be indisputable but did not provide evidence of fraud. Argentina's President Javier Milei, who supported Bolsonaro, said the government had "taken note" of the result and would not congratulate Lula.

The U.S. president's reaction contrasted with those of leaders across the political spectrum, including conservative presidents in Latin America. Lula received congratulations from leaders including Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, French President Emmanuel Macron and Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.

Lula won approximately 51.8% of valid votes in Sunday's runoff, compared with 48.2% for Bolsonaro, according to the reported results. The margin was more than 4 million votes. The result marked a comeback for Lula, who finished second to Bolsonaro in the first round on October 4. His victory also denied the Brazilian right a return to the presidency after a closely contested campaign in Latin America's largest country.

Trump has long maintained ties with the Bolsonaro family. Jair Bolsonaro, a close political ally of the U.S. president, is serving a 27-year sentence under house arrest for his role in a plot to overturn his 2022 election defeat to Lula. Flávio Bolsonaro had pledged to seek a pardon for his father.

Relations between Washington and Brasília have also been strained by Trump's tariffs on Brazilian goods and his criticism of Brazil's prosecution of the former president. Lula used his victory speech to stress Brazilian sovereignty, declaring that the country would not accept being anyone's "backyard."