Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro Leaves for United States After Election Defeat

Brasilia, Brazil. Senator Flavio Bolsonaro has travelled to the United States following his defeat in Sunday’s presidential election, three sources said. The US State Department is due to grant entry visas to him and his family.

Departure despite court order

Bolsonaro has not yet conceded to the leftist incumbent, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. He left Brazil after refusing to obey a Supreme Court order requiring him to hand over his passports. The order stems from an investigation into money laundering, and he denies any wrongdoing.

It was not immediately clear where Bolsonaro, his wife and their two daughters were. One source close to the family said he had landed in Florida but did not say where in the state.

A senior State Department official said: “The State Department will issue visas to Flavio Bolsonaro and his family and allow them entry into the United States.”

Tension between Washington and Brasilia

The departure could widen the divide between the two countries, which are the most populous in the Americas. Lula has accused Washington of working with the Bolsonaro family to return them to power. Before Sunday’s vote, Reuters reported on a State Department campaign to restore the Bolsonaros to office.

Trump’s comments

US President Donald Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he would approve of Flavio Bolsonaro entering the United States. He said, “I think they’re fine people.”

Trump described the election as very strange and terrible, said it had drawn poor reviews, and pointed to what had happened to Brazil’s market. He said he had not taken sides and knew both men: Lula, Flavio slightly, and Flavio’s father very well. In his view the father had been treated very badly, though he said he was not involved and added that Brazil is a different country.

Jair Bolsonaro’s precedent

Trump has previously alleged that Flavio’s father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, was a victim of judicial persecution in Brazil. The elder Bolsonaro also went to the United States in 2022 after refusing to concede to Lula, when Joe Biden was US president. He eventually returned to Brazil and was later sentenced to 27 years for plotting a coup, after his supporters stormed government buildings in Brasilia.