Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro fled his home country and arrived in the United States on Tuesday, with some on the right describing him as a political refugee. Bolsonaro’s passport was seized by government order after he recently lost the presidential election to current President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Instead of handing them over, Bolsonaro took off with his family, traveling through Argentina, Ecuador and finally landing in Miami, Florida. A senior State Department official told the Washington Post that the Trump administration quickly issued visas to Bolsonaro and his family.
Bolsonaro thanked Argentine President Javier Milley and President Donald Trump for helping him escape. He later posted on
Bolsonaro, the son of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, is currently under investigation by Brazil’s Supreme Court on suspicion of money laundering, corruption and tax evasion, but has not yet been charged with a crime. If Bolsonaro is charged in the investigation and convicted, he could face extradition from the United States. His father is currently serving a 27-year prison sentence for attempting a coup in 2023 but has been under house arrest for health reasons. After Bolsonaro’s defeat in the election, he also went to Florida on the eve of Lula’s inauguration in December 2022.
Start your day with important news from the salon.
Sign up for our free morning newsletter, Crash Course.
On October 25, Lula won re-election with more than 4 million votes, defeating Bolsonaro in the second round of the election, an election that is expected to have a profound impact on Latin American politics. This has also reduced the influence of Trump, an ally of the Bolsonaro family, in South America.
“I regret that he left Brazil because he could have stayed here and proved that these accusations were not true,” Lula told supporters outside the presidential palace in Brasilia. “This act of leaving Brazil is disgraceful.”
Read more
About the Trump Administration