Brazilian Senator Flávio Bolsonaro arrived in Florida this Wednesday, October 28, after fleeing his country via Argentina—days after losing the election to President Lula. The 45-year-old conservative senator disembarked from a private jet at Opa-locka Executive Airport, on the outskirts of Miami, as observed by an AFP journalist. The arrival marked the end of a dramatic, cinematic escape that has caused astonishment both inside and outside Brazil.
Flávio Bolsonaro—son of former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro—fled his country for Argentina on Tuesday night. From there, he departed by plane for Ecuador, where he made a brief stop early Wednesday morning before taking off for the United States.
Flávio Bolsonaro did not concede his electoral defeat following Sunday’s runoff against leftist President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. He was under a court order prohibiting him from leaving Brazil due to an ongoing money-laundering investigation. His brother, Eduardo Bolsonaro—a former member of the Chamber of Deputies—resides in the United States and is also the subject of several legal investigations in Brazil.
Bolsonaro’s departure from Brazil was shrouded in significant confusion. U.S. media outlets reported that the Brazilian politician had already arrived in the United States. Meanwhile, sources within the Argentine government—led by President Javier Milei, an ally of the Bolsonaro family—initially denied that the senator had entered the country.
However, hours later, Argentina’s National Migration Directorate confirmed that Bolsonaro had crossed the border shortly before midnight, “with valid travel documentation and no legal impediments.” Bolsonaro, his wife, and his two daughters then boarded “a private flight operated by the company Baires Fly S.A., bound for the city of Guayaquil, Ecuador,” at the Argentine airport of Puerto Iguazú, the Migration Directorate stated in a post on X.
In the early hours of Wednesday, the aircraft landed in Guayaquil, where it refueled before taking off again about half an hour later, according to AFP reporters at the scene.
On Monday, October 26, Flávio Bolsonaro stated that the Brazilian justice system had prohibited him from leaving the country in an “attempt to intimidate him.” He also denied any intention to depart, asserting that he would act as the leader of the opposition: “I never thought about leaving the country. I will hand over my passports and defend myself against this travesty,” he said in a video.
The senator is under investigation for alleged corruption and money laundering related to the financing of a film about his father, among other ongoing inquiries. A Brazilian police source indicated to AFP on Tuesday that the senator’s Brazilian passports—including his diplomatic ones—had been canceled.
However, he has held Italian citizenship since 2023, according to a 2025 document from the Italian Parliament consulted by AFP. On Tuesday, Lula stated that he did not have “precise information” regarding his electoral rival fleeing the country, but added that such an act would be “shameful.”
“Brazil is his second homeland; his first is licking the boots of the United States,” the re-elected president remarked during his 81st birthday celebration in Brasília.
News of Bolsonaro’s departure caused astonishment within his own camp. “We still have no word on his whereabouts,” his campaign manager, Rogério Marinho, told reporters in Brasília. “I received a text message from him (in the morning) saying he would let some time pass today and then speak with us—and that was it. That was the only communication we had,” he added.
Eduardo Bolsonaro had already been acting as a liaison with the Trump administration for months. The United States previously hosted his father, Jair, for three months; the elder Bolsonaro had traveled there before Lula’s inauguration in 2023.
Last week, on a U.S.-based podcast, Eduardo Bolsonaro stated that he favored his brother leaving Brazil if he failed to win the election, citing the judicial investigations pending against him.
After losing the election, Flávio Bolsonaro announced he would seek to have the runoff vote annulled, arguing that a judicial decision to extend voting hours by two hours had benefited Lula.
The leftist leader won with nearly 52% of the vote, compared to 48% for the conservative candidate—a margin of more than 4 million votes. Bolsonaro had been the favorite to win the runoff after placing first in the initial round.
He had promised that, if elected, his first act in office would be to secure the release of his father, Jair Bolsonaro, who was sentenced to 27 years in prison for attempting a coup d’état against Lula following his defeat in the 2022 election.
