Flávio Bolsonaro, the defeated right-wing Brazilian presidential candidate, landed in Miami on Oct. 28 after fleeing Brazil, ending speculation about his whereabouts.
Bolsonaro, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, left Brazil after he was banned from leaving the country and ordered to surrender his passport by a Brazilian judge shortly after losing the presidential runoff election. The court order came as part of a criminal investigation into Bolsonaro’s alleged involvement in a money laundering scheme.
Bolsonaro and members of his family were photographed exiting an airplane at the Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport in Miami-Dade County.
It was not immediately clear if the Bolsonaro family intended to remain in Florida. At the airport, members of Bolsonaro’s entourage used umbrellas to shield the family from cameras as they entered a car.
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The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The whereabouts of Flávio Bolsonaro were unclear for much of the day on Oct. 27. Argentina’s migration department said in a statement that Bolsonaro had crossed into the country from Brazil at 10:50 p.m. local time with his wife and two daughters through the Tancredo Neves International Bridge border crossing.
Bolsonaro and his family boarded a private flight from Argentina to Ecuador at 11:30 p.m., the department added.
The State Department said on Oct. 27 that it would issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family and allow them to enter the United States. Trump later told reporters that he approved of the decision.
"I think they're fine people," Trump said of Bolsonaro and his family.
Bolsonaro lost to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the second round of the presidential election on Oct. 25. The result came as a surprise after Bolsonaro emerged as the leading candidate in the first round of the election and was widely favored to defeat Lula.
Lula, the 81-year-old incumbent leftist, won the runoff with 51.79% of the vote, staging a stunning comeback to secure a historic fourth term in office. Flávio Bolsonaro refused to concede and initially pledged to seek an annulment of the election, citing "foul play."
The runoff election on Oct. 25 was marred by a last-minute order from a Brazilian judge to keep polling stations open for two extra hours. The day of the election featured bad weather and public transportation delays in parts of the country, prompting both candidates to request an extension to voting hours.
The timing of the judge’s order to extend the election reportedly sowed confusion across the country because some polling stations had already closed and ballots were being counted.
Flávio’s younger brother Eduardo Bolsonaro, who has lived in Texas since 2025, suggested during an Oct. 23 appearance on the "Louder with Crowder" podcast that his sibling should flee Brazil if he didn’t win the election. Flávio Bolsonaro said in a video posted to social media that his brother’s comments prompted Brazilian authorities to order the surrender of his passport.
Trump did not formally endorse Bolsonaro in the election, but he has repeatedly criticized the voting process in Brazil. "It looked like another rigged election, frankly," Trump said on Oct. 26.
After serving as president from 2003 to 2011, Lula returned to office after he defeated Bolsonaro’s father, Jair Bolsonaro, in the 2022 presidential election. Flávio Bolsonaro's arrival in Miami is reminiscent of his father’s decision in 2022 to travel to Florida days before Lula’s inauguration.
Jair Bolsonaro later returned to Brazil and was convicted of an attempted coup after he was found guilty of plotting against Lula in the aftermath of the 2022 election. The elder Bolsonaro, who had a close relationship with Trump, is now serving a 27-year-sentence under house arrest.
Trump has condemned the criminal prosecution of Jair Bolsonaro and called it a "witch hunt." The Trump administration imposed a 50% tariff on Brazil last year that was motivated, in part, by the U.S. president’s anger over Jair Bolsonaro’s criminal trial.
Lula, speaking at a celebration for his 81st birthday in Brasilia on Oct. 27, called Flávio Bolsonaro’s decision to flee to the United States "shameful."
"This is what the Bolsonaro family is like," Lula said. "Brazil is their second nation; the U.S. is their first."
