Brazil courts ordered passports surrendered as Flavio Bolsonaro arrives in US after Trump gives visa

Arrival and passport order

Flavio Bolsonaro, Brazil’s defeated election candidate, arrived in the United States late Tuesday. He travelled with his wife and two daughters, according to a source cited by Reuters.

His arrival followed a court order requiring him to surrender his passports amid an ongoing corruption investigation. Brazilian police had said they cancelled his passports, while the Trump administration announced it would give visas to Bolsonaro and his family.

The route he took remains unclear. Argentina said it had not permitted entry to a plane linked to the Bolsonaro family.

Election result disputed

Bolsonaro has not officially conceded defeat and said he would seek to annul the result, alleging voter irregularities. On Sunday, he told journalists, “It is impossible to recognise the election results, given the circumstances under which things unfolded.” The article reports two different vote totals. One passage says Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva won 51.75 per cent to Bolsonaro’s 48.25 per cent; another says Lula received 51.79 per cent and Bolsonaro 48.21 per cent, with all votes counted. Lula, who was re-elected, called Bolsonaro’s departure “shameful” and said he should have stayed to prove his innocence.

Departure drew public attention

Bolsonaro said in a video posted Monday that he had “never thought about leaving the country” and was trying to organise opposition among congressional colleagues to the election result. Reporters had gathered outside his home in Brasilia, but he did not appear.