After election defeat, Bolsonaro flees Brazil for Miami amid criminal investigation and passport dispute

Miami trip amid investigation

Senator Flávio Bolsonaro flew to Miami after his defeat in Sunday’s presidential election. The United States said it would grant visas to him and the family members travelling with him.

Brazil cancelled his passport after he failed to hand it over to authorities, citing an ongoing criminal investigation. Flávio Bolsonaro has denied wrongdoing.

Bolsonaro explains his departure

Flávio Bolsonaro said he had not intended to leave Brazil, but claimed he knew where events were heading. He described himself as a victim of a coup d'état and political persecution, and said the trip was meant to protect his family. He also accused those he said had stolen the election of belonging to a criminal organization that had established a tyranny.

Conflicting accounts of his route

Speculation about Flávio Bolsonaro’s location began with a report from an Argentine news site. It claimed he crossed the land border into Argentina before boarding a private plane bound for the United States.

After his lawyers said they did not know where he was, reports from several sources said he was heading to the US. Three people close to the Bolsonaros told BBC Brasil and BBC Mundo that he had arrived, and another aide told BBC Mundo he was in Miami with his younger brother.

Flávio Bolsonaro was seen leaving a plane in Miami on Wednesday morning. Hours later, Argentine migration authorities said he, his wife and two daughters had crossed into Argentina by land on Tuesday night local time.

Election result confirmed

The president of Brazil’s top electoral court confirmed the result. He was appointed by Jair Bolsonaro and said extending voting hours did not affect the count or outcome. The competing claims about the journey’s timing and route left some details of Flávio Bolsonaro’s departure unclear, although reports placed him in Miami.