Defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro arrived in Miami with his family on Wednesday, days after losing Sunday’s runoff election and defying a Supreme Court order to surrender his passports.
Television footage showed Bolsonaro, his wife and their two daughters stepping off a Gulfstream G400 private jet at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport. The United States government said it would grant entry visas to the senator and his family, and President Donald Trump said publicly that he approved of Bolsonaro coming to the United States.
The arrival closes a secretive, multi-country journey — and opens a new diplomatic and legal chapter in an election dispute that had already divided Brazil.
What happened
Bolsonaro left Brazil after a Supreme Court order requiring him to hand over his passports. The order relates to a money-laundering investigation in which he denies any wrongdoing. He has not been charged in that investigation, according to the reporting available so far.
His route, as described by Argentina’s migration department and shown in flight reporting, took him into northern Argentina late on Tuesday evening. From there, a private jet carried the family to Guayaquil in Ecuador, and then on to Miami on Wednesday.
Neither Argentina’s presidency, Ecuadorean government ministries nor Baires Fly, the operator of the private jet, responded to requests for comment, according to Reuters.
The arrival followed a day of conflicting reports about where Bolsonaro was. Some US media outlets reported on Tuesday that he had already reached the United States, citing unnamed sources, while a Brazilian police source told Agence France-Presse there was no formal record of his departure.
From election favourite to Miami in three days
Bolsonaro had been widely expected to win Sunday’s election. He finished ahead of incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in the first round earlier in October, but Lula staged a comeback in the runoff.
Lula’s fourth-term victory on Sunday, by about 51.8% of the vote, stunned Bolsonaro’s camp. The senator refused to concede and sought to have the result annulled, arguing that a two-hour extension of polling — granted to deal with transport problems that kept some voters from reaching polling stations — had not been applied evenly. Both campaigns had asked for an extension.
On Monday, after the passport order, Bolsonaro said he had no intention of leaving Brazil.
“I have never thought about leaving the country,” he said. “I will hand over my passports and defend myself against this travesty, which is a clear attempt to intimidate me.”
By Tuesday evening, however, he was reported to have crossed into Argentina. His campaign manager, Rogerio Marinho, told reporters in Brasilia on Tuesday that he had been unable to establish the senator’s whereabouts, and that Bolsonaro had sent him a text message that morning saying he would wait before speaking to the campaign team.
What Trump said
Trump, who has long been close to Bolsonaro’s father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, backed the move publicly.
“Well, I would approve,” Trump told reporters late on Tuesday, when asked about Flavio Bolsonaro taking refuge in the United States. “The election was very strange, and I thought it was terrible.”
“I didn’t take sides. I know them both. I know Lula, I know Flavio a little bit,” he added. “But I wasn’t involved.”
A senior US State Department official had already said the department would issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family and allow them entry into the United States.
Trump has previously described Jair Bolsonaro as a victim of judicial persecution in Brazil. He also claimed after Sunday’s result that Brazil’s election was rigged, without providing evidence.
Why it matters for Brazil and the United States
Bolsonaro’s departure threatens to deepen an already strained relationship between the two largest countries in the Americas.
Lula has accused Washington of colluding with the Bolsonaro family to help return them to power. Reuters reported before Sunday’s election on a US State Department campaign aimed at restoring the family to office.
Separately, Brazil’s Supreme Court on Tuesday ordered police to investigate alleged foreign financing of Bolsonaro’s campaign and possible overseas interference, including the manipulation of social media. Lula’s campaign had accused Meta, the parent company of WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, of algorithmic manipulation that affected the election. Meta denied favouring either candidate, although it acknowledged that some of Lula’s campaign advertisements had been mistakenly deactivated because of technical errors.
The episode also echoes the family’s recent history. Jair Bolsonaro travelled to the United States in December 2022 after losing that year’s presidential election to Lula and refusing to concede. He returned to Brazil three months later and was eventually sentenced to 27 years in prison for plotting a coup after his supporters stormed government buildings in Brasilia.
Flavio Bolsonaro, 45, had campaigned on a pledge to secure his father’s release.
What happens next
Several questions remain unanswered, and they will shape what happens next:
- Will Brazilian authorities seek Bolsonaro’s return, and on what legal basis, given that he has not been charged in the money-laundering investigation?
- How long will he stay in the United States, and on what visa terms?
- What happens to the annulment bid he launched after Sunday’s result?
- And what does his departure mean for Brazil’s already tense relationship with Washington in the first weeks of Lula’s fourth term?
One legal clock is already running. Bolsonaro is expected to lose his parliamentary immunity when his Senate term ends in February, potentially exposing him to further legal action in Brazil.
For now, the most concrete facts are the ones captured on camera in Miami: a defeated candidate, his family, and a private jet on the tarmac — three days after an election he was expected to win.
Timeline
- Early October 2026: Flavio Bolsonaro finishes ahead of Lula in the first round of Brazil’s presidential election.
- Sunday, October 25, 2026: Lula wins the runoff with about 51.8% of the vote; Bolsonaro refuses to concede and seeks annulment.
- Monday, October 26, 2026: Bolsonaro says he has no plans to flee and will hand over his passports and defend himself.
- Tuesday, October 27, 2026: Bolsonaro’s campaign manager says he cannot establish the senator’s whereabouts; Argentina’s migration department later records the family entering northern Argentina late in the evening; Brazil’s Supreme Court orders an investigation into alleged foreign campaign financing.
- Wednesday, October 28, 2026: Bolsonaro, his wife and two daughters fly via Guayaquil to Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport; Trump says he approves of his US entry; the State Department confirms visas will be granted.
Frequently asked questions
Why did Flavio Bolsonaro leave Brazil?
He left after a Supreme Court order to surrender his passports in connection with a money-laundering investigation in which he denies wrongdoing, and after losing Sunday’s presidential runoff to Lula.
Where did Flavio Bolsonaro arrive in the United States?
He arrived at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport in Florida on Wednesday, October 28, with his wife and two daughters, after travelling via northern Argentina and Guayaquil, Ecuador.
Did Donald Trump support Flavio Bolsonaro coming to the US?
Yes. Trump told reporters he would approve, and a senior State Department official said the department would issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family and allow them entry.
Has Flavio Bolsonaro been charged with a crime?
No charge has been reported in the money-laundering investigation linked to the passport order. Bolsonaro denies wrongdoing and has described the case as an attempt to intimidate him.
Did Flavio Bolsonaro concede the election?
No. He refused to concede after Sunday’s runoff and sought to have the result annulled, arguing that a two-hour polling extension had not been applied evenly.
What happens to his legal immunity?
He is expected to lose his parliamentary immunity when his Senate term ends in February, which could expose him to further legal action in Brazil.
Related coverage
Read more about Lula’s fourth-term victory on Sunday and about how Bolsonaro refused to concede and sought to have the result annulled, in our earlier coverage. You can also browse more stories in our World section.