The defeated Brazilian presidential candidate flew to the United States after evading a passport seizure order, claiming without evidence that Sunday’s election was stolen.
Brazilian Senator Flávio Bolsonaro arrived in Florida on Wednesday after fleeing Brazil, declaring himself the country’s leader and pledging to lead the opposition from abroad. Fox News reported that Bolsonaro landed with his family at Opa-locka Executive Airport north of Miami on Wednesday morning aboard a private plane.
Bolsonaro had left Brazil for the US on Tuesday after missing a court-ordered deadline to surrender his travel documents, crossing into Argentina before flying north.
Claims of fraud and a contested election
Bolsonaro published an open letter on the social media platform X after his arrival. The BBC reported that he first released a post calling himself Brazil’s rightful president before deleting it and issuing a revised statement describing himself as the leader of Brazil. In the letter, Bolsonaro claimed without evidence that he was the victim of electoral fraud, stating that an extension of voting hours on Sunday favored his opponent.
Bolsonaro lost Sunday’s runoff election to leftist incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by 3.58 percent, a margin of 4.4 million votes, and has refused to concede defeat. Both campaigns had requested the extended voting hours. Brazil’s electoral authority stated that the vote proceeded normally and complied with the country’s constitution and laws. An analysis by the BBC found that roughly 34,000 voters cast ballots during the extended hours, a total far below the 4.4 million votes separating the two candidates.
Escape across borders and legal troubles
Bolsonaro’s departure followed an order from Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who instructed the senator on Monday to surrender his passports and barred him from leaving the country. Federal police had requested the passport seizure seven minutes after election officials confirmed Lula’s victory.
Although Bolsonaro said in a Monday video that he would turn over his passports, he crossed into Argentina on Tuesday night. Argentine migration authorities confirmed that the Bolsonaro family entered with valid travel papers and without any legal impediment. The family then traveled to Ecuador for a refueling stop before flying to Florida.
Bolsonaro denied running away from authorities, stating that he left to protect his family from a witch hunt led by Lula and the Supreme Court. “I did not flee Brazil,” he said, adding that he had not abandoned the Brazilian people. Lula called the senator’s flight a shameful act and recalled his own 2018 arrest for corruption.
Bolsonaro was under multiple Brazilian criminal investigations for alleged tax evasion, money laundering and corruption. On Tuesday, Brazil’s Supreme Court also ordered federal police to open an inquiry into alleged illegal foreign funding for his presidential bid, focusing on the Rockbridge Network, a conservative donor group co-founded by U.S. Vice President JD Vance.
Political fallout in Brazil and Washington
Back in Brazil, Bolsonaro’s Liberal Party recognized the election outcome. Rogério Marinho, the head of the party, said on Wednesday that “there is no evidence” to support the fraud claims. Bolsonaro hasn’t said where he will stay or how long he plans to remain in the United States. His younger brother, Eduardo Bolsonaro, has lived in self-imposed exile in the U.S. since March 2025 over claims of political persecution, and the two brothers posted a picture online Wednesday holding a Brazilian flag.
President Donald Trump granted visas to Bolsonaro and his family, though U.S. officials did not state which category of visas they received. Trump told reporters on Wednesday that he considered the family fine people, though he said he would not get involved in the election dispute. Trump still called the election strange and noted the market reaction in Brazil, where the benchmark Ibovespa index dropped nearly 14 percent on Monday and the currency fell nearly 11 percent against the U.S. dollar.
