Defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro and his family arrived in Miami on Wednesday, after he refused to concede to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva then fled the country.
In a circuitous journey, Mr Bolsonaro left for Argentina on Tuesday with his wife and two daughters, then travelled to Ecuador, according to Argentina officials and flight data.
The 45-year-old senator and his family arrived in Florida a day after the Trump administration granted them United States visas. Mr Bolsonaro, an ally of US President Donald Trump, visited the White House in May.
Mr Bolsonaro’s father, Jair Bolsonaro, also fled to Florida after losing the 2022 presidential election to Lula before returning to Brazil three months later.
Flavio Bolsonaro is under investigation by Brazil’s Supreme Court, accused of corruption, money laundering and tax evasion.
The court had ordered him to hand over his regular and diplomatic passports by noon on Tuesday. It remained unclear whether he had complied, but allies said late Tuesday he also has an Italian passport.
Dressed casually in a dark polo shirt and flanked by his wife and two daughters, Mr Bolsonaro stepped out of the plane shortly after it landed in Miami at around 9.30am local time. Florida is home to the largest population of Brazilians in the US.
Before the family landed in Florida, Lula, who turned 81 on Tuesday, spoke to dozens of supporters outside the presidential residence in Brasilia.
“I regret that he left Brazil, because he could have stayed here and proven that the accusations are not true,” Lula said. “This act of leaving Brazil is shameful.”
Paulo Figueiredo, a close Bolsonaro ally who lives in the U.S., said in a short statement he couldn’t confirm information from foreign authorities but that “Flavio Bolsonaro is well, in security and resting with his family.”
That Mr Bolsonaro travelled via Argentina is almost certain to cause a diplomatic rift between Lula and Argentine President Javier Milei, another Trump ally who travelled to Brazil to take part in Mr Bolsonaro’s campaign.
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