Flávio Bolsonaro leaves Brazil after passport order; US says it will grant visas
Defeated presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro flew out via Argentina to Ecuador after ignoring a Supreme Court order to hand in his passports in a money-laundering probe, and Washington says it will let him and his family into the United States.
At a glance
- Senator Flávio Bolsonaro, who lost Brazil's October 25 presidential runoff to Lula, left the country after missing a 24-hour Supreme Court deadline to surrender his passports.
- Argentina's migration agency said he, his wife and two daughters entered Argentina on Tuesday night, October 27, with valid documents, then boarded a private flight to Guayaquil, Ecuador.
- A senior US State Department official said Washington will issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family and allow them into the United States; President Trump said he would approve.
- The court order, from Justice Alexandre de Moraes, is linked to a money-laundering investigation involving lawyer Willer Tomaz. Bolsonaro denies wrongdoing.
- President Lula called the departure "shameful" and said his rival should have stayed in Brazil to prove his innocence.
Flávio Bolsonaro, the senator who lost Brazil's presidential runoff to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Sunday, has left the country after ignoring a Supreme Court order to surrender his passports. Argentina's migration authority said he and his family crossed into Argentina on Tuesday night, October 27, and then boarded a private flight to Guayaquil, Ecuador, while the US State Department said on Wednesday it will issue visas allowing the family into the United States.
What happened
The order came from Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes on Monday, October 26, the day after the runoff. It gave Bolsonaro 24 hours to hand in his ordinary Brazilian passport, the diplomatic passport he holds as a senator and any foreign passports, and banned him from leaving Brazil. The justice cited a risk that he could flee abroad, pointing to his "significant financial resources". The deadline passed on Tuesday morning without the passports being handed over, and his Brazilian documents were cancelled.
Bolsonaro, his wife and their two daughters then entered Argentina. The country's National Directorate of Migration said they arrived with valid travel documentation and without any legal impediment, and later boarded a private flight operated by Baires Fly bound for Guayaquil. Brazil's Federal Police said he did not leave through a regular migration checkpoint. Bolsonaro has held Italian citizenship since 2023, which may explain how he travelled after his Brazilian passports were cancelled.
| Date (2026) | Event |
|---|---|
| Sunday, Oct 25 | Lula wins the runoff with 51.75% to 48.25%, a margin of more than 4 million votes |
| Monday, Oct 26 | Justice de Moraes orders Bolsonaro to hand in all passports within 24 hours and bans travel |
| Tuesday, Oct 27 (morning) | Deadline passes; Brazilian and diplomatic passports cancelled |
| Tuesday, Oct 27 (night) | Bolsonaro and family enter Argentina |
| Wednesday, Oct 28 | Argentina says family flew to Guayaquil, Ecuador; US says it will issue visas |
A senior State Department official said Washington "will issue visas to Flavio Bolsonaro and his family and allow them entry into the United States." President Donald Trump said he would approve of the family coming to the US and called them "fine people". According to reports, the family intends to seek asylum in the United States, but this has not been officially confirmed, and his exact whereabouts were still unclear on Wednesday.
The investigation behind the order
The passport order is linked to a money-laundering inquiry centred on Willer Tomaz, a Brasília lawyer whose companies are accused of laundering large sums. The case grew out of a federal investigation, opened in April 2025, into unauthorised deductions from pension payments made by Brazil's social security agency. Investigators say Bolsonaro had "master user" access to the bank accounts of Alcazar Holdings, a company owned by Tomaz. Both men deny any business partnership or shared accounts, and the order also barred Bolsonaro from contacting Tomaz.
On Tuesday another Supreme Court justice ordered the Federal Police to investigate possible illegal foreign financing of Bolsonaro's campaign. He is also being investigated over alleged links to banker Daniel Vorcaro.
Background: a family under legal pressure
Flávio, 45, is the eldest son of former president Jair Bolsonaro, who was convicted of plotting to overturn his 2022 election defeat and sentenced to 27 years and three months in prison; he is serving the sentence under house arrest for health reasons. Another son, Eduardo Bolsonaro, was convicted in June of coercion in judicial proceedings and lives in Texas. Before the vote, Eduardo said publicly that his brother should leave the country if he lost.
Flávio had led many polls before the runoff but lost by about 4.3 million votes. He first refused to recognise the result and said he would seek its annulment, citing a two-hour extension of voting. His Liberal Party later accepted Lula's victory, and he said: "The system won."
Reactions
Lula called the departure "shameful" and said his opponent should have stayed in Brazil and proved his innocence. "Those who have nothing to hide have nothing to fear," the president said. Bolsonaro has described the court order as intimidation and says he will use every legal avenue against it. His campaign manager, Senator Rogério Marinho, said he had received only a short text message from Bolsonaro and did not know where he was. A family spokesman declined to comment.
Why it matters
The flight of the runner-up in a presidential election is highly unusual for a major democracy, and it is likely to deepen Brazil's political divide only days after a bitter campaign. Washington's decision to grant visas also risks a new diplomatic row between Brazil and the United States, after Trump said without evidence that the election appeared "rigged" — a claim Vice-President Geraldo Alckmin rejected as completely wrong. Brazilian markets have already been volatile since the vote, with stocks falling sharply on Monday.
What happens next
Brazilian prosecutors and the Federal Police are continuing both the money-laundering and campaign-financing investigations. Bolsonaro keeps some parliamentary protections until his Senate term ends on January 31, 2027. Lula is due to be sworn in for a fourth term on January 1, 2027. It is not yet known whether Brazil will seek an international arrest warrant or extradition, which would depend on any formal charges.
Questions people are asking
Why did Flávio Bolsonaro leave Brazil?
He left after Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered him to hand in his passports and banned him from travelling, citing a risk of flight in a money-laundering investigation. Bolsonaro calls the order intimidation and denies any wrongdoing.
Where is Flávio Bolsonaro now?
Argentina's migration authority said he and his family entered Argentina on Tuesday night and then took a private flight to Guayaquil, Ecuador. The US State Department says it will grant the family visas, but his final destination had not been officially confirmed on Wednesday.
Did Flávio Bolsonaro accept Lula's election win?
He initially refused and said he would seek to annul the result, but his Liberal Party later acknowledged Lula's victory. Bolsonaro said "the system won" and that he would challenge Lula's ticket in the courts and lead the opposition in Congress.
