Bolsonaro Reportedly in Miami Despite Travel Ban After Lula Loss
A Brazilian newspaper, citing family allies, reported that Bolsonaro arrived on a flight to Miami. Eduardo, who lives in Texas, allegedly coordinated the departure with US authorities and flew to Florida with his wife and children to greet his brother’s family.
A senior US State Department official told a news agency on Tuesday that Washington would issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family and allow them to enter the country.
Passports canceled: Brazil’s Federal Police voided Bolsonaro’s regular and diplomatic passports Tuesday after he missed a 24-hour deadline to surrender them. Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes issued that order Monday, one day after Bolsonaro lost the presidential runoff to incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
The restrictions stem from a probe into suspected money laundering and currency evasion tied to financial transactions involving attorney Willer Tomaz, a Bolsonaro associate. The senator also faces a separate investigation into the financing of Dark Horse, a biographical film about his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro. Investigators are examining alleged payments linked to Daniel Vorcaro, former owner of the now-defunct financial institution Banco Master.
Bolsonaro denies any wrongdoing. On Monday, he insisted he had no plans to flee.
“I have never thought about leaving the country. I will hand over my passports and defend myself against this travesty,” he said, describing the judicial order as “a clear attempt to intimidate me.”
He spoke after visiting his father, who is serving a 27-year prison sentence under house arrest in Brasilia.
Lula condemned the reported departure Tuesday, calling it “shameful” and suggesting his rival ran to escape justice.
“He could have stayed and proven that the accusations against him are not true,” Lula said. “If you have nothing to hide, you have nothing to fear. A citizen who sneaks out of their own country does so because they have something to hide.”
Conflicting reports on the route: Speculation about Bolsonaro’s whereabouts grew Tuesday after Argentine media reported that he had crossed into Argentina by land on his national identity card. According to those reports, he planned to board a private flight to Miami with his wife and daughters.
The reports centered on a Gulfstream G400 jet, registered as LV-JQW and operated by Argentine charter company Baires Fly SA. It arrived at Puerto Iguazu airport, near the Brazilian border, from Buenos Aires late Monday. The aircraft was expected to leave for the US with four passengers and three crew members but stayed on the ground Tuesday.
Argentine media said aviation authorities withheld departure clearance over regulatory issues. Other reports said the passengers never showed up and the flight was scrapped.
Argentina’s National Directorate of Migration, however, said it had no record of Bolsonaro entering the country and that no flight plan listing his relatives had been filed. The agency said officials inspected the aircraft and crew and found the company’s paperwork in order.
Brazilian federal police likewise found no record of Bolsonaro exiting through an official immigration checkpoint. They have begun examining border crossings and flight records to establish how he left.
Bolsonaro’s campaign coordinator, Sen. Rogerio Marinho, first denied that he had left Brazil, while Eduardo dismissed the reports as a “lie.”
Marinho later said Bolsonaro messaged him Tuesday morning to say he needed time to clear his head before going incommunicado. A Brazilian newspaper reported that allies had urged Bolsonaro at a Monday meeting to stay in Brazil and lead the opposition after his defeat.
The reported departure comes two days after Lula beat Bolsonaro in the runoff to win a fourth term. The senator initially called for the result to be annulled, although his Liberal Party has acknowledged Lula’s victory.
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