Flavio Bolsonaro leaves Brazil and flies to the United States

Flavio Bolsonaro, the candidate defeated on Sunday in the runoff of Brazil's presidential election against Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, has left the country. Several South American newspapers report that the escape was organised overnight between Monday and Tuesday. The 45-year-old is said to have headed for the United States: an American official confirmed to Reuters that Bolsonaro was on a flight bound for the US.

The US government backed his decision to leave Brazil. According to CNN, citing sources close to the White House, Washington will grant a visa to Bolsonaro and his family.

Lula, who said he did not have precise information on the matter, nonetheless commented sharply during celebrations for his 81st birthday in Brasília: "Lasciare il Brasile è vergognoso" ("Leaving Brazil is shameful"), he said, adding that for Bolsonaro, "Brazil is his second homeland. The first is licking the boots of the United States." Brazil's federal police meanwhile checked border crossings with Argentina and flight records to verify whether Bolsonaro had actually left for the United States, an ally of President Donald Trump.

The seized passport

After the election, Brazilian authorities had already suspected a possible escape, since Bolsonaro is under investigation in several corruption cases. There is already a precedent: last year his brother Eduardo fled to the United States, under investigation for his role in the 2023 attack on Brazilian institutions carried out by supporters of their father Jair, the former president defeated in the previous year's election.

To prevent another similar case, authorities seized the defeated candidate's passport on Monday evening. Bolsonaro said he was stopped by police while returning from a visit to his father, who is under house arrest, and had the document taken from him: "Non ho mai pensato di lasciare il Paese" ("I never thought about leaving the country"), he said. According to Reuters, however, Bolsonaro let the deadline set by the Supreme Court expire without returning his passport, which federal police then cancelled.

Investigators believe Bolsonaro first travelled through Argentina, where an identity card is enough to cross the border from Brazil. A private plane belonging to an Argentine company landed on Monday at 11.45pm in Puerto Iguazú, a town on the border between the two countries; according to Argentine media, the flight plan listed four passengers, including Bolsonaro, who then allegedly boarded another private jet bound for the United States. The Argentine government of Javier Milei, a Bolsonaro supporter, denied this account, calling it based on "non-existent rumours" and stating that the plane's documentation was in order and that no flight plan including the Bolsonaro family had been filed.

Brazil's Supreme Court also ordered an investigation into possible foreign financing of Bolsonaro's campaign, which is banned under Brazilian law, as well as possible foreign interference, including whether political support was offered in exchange for access to the country's critical minerals. Investigators suspect the involvement of a US company.