Fresh questions about Brazil’s political turmoil surfaced on Monday after the US State Department said it would issue visas to Brazilian senator Flavio Bolsonaro and his family, amid reports he has left the country following his defeat in the weekend’s presidential run-off.
US media reported that the Brazilian senator had departed Brazil for the United States.
Where Mr Bolsonaro, his wife and their two daughters may be in the US was not immediately known.
One source close to the family said Mr Bolsonaro had arrived in Florida, but would not provide further details.
Mr Bolsonaro, who is facing multiple legal problems, had his passports cancelled, though the documents had not been surrendered as of this afternoon.
The New York Times, CNN and other outlets said he had left Brazil, citing unnamed US officials.
The US State Department said it would issue visas to Mr Bolsonaro and his family “and allow them entry into the United States”.
However, the department stopped short of confirming whether they were actually travelling to the US.
Mr Bolsonaro is under scrutiny in several investigations, including a corruption probe into the financing of a biopic about his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, who is under house arrest for plotting a coup.
Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva accused the US of colluding with the Bolsonaros to put them back in power
The 45-year-old lost to incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Sunday and is set to lose his parliamentary immunity as legal pressures mount.
Although he promised to pursue a legal challenge to the result, his party and political allies accepted the outcome, leaving him increasingly isolated.
The New York Times also reported that Mr Bolsonaro was being investigated over alleged connections to a Brazilian lawyer accused of laundering more than $1 billion (€898 million) through an alleged fraud scheme.
Mr Bolsonaro’s brother, Eduardo, is based in the United States.
After reports suggested Mr Bolsonaro had entered neighbouring Argentina, that country’s security ministry and migration authorities said he had not.
US President Donald Trump has previously claimed Flavio’s father was being subjected to judicial persecution in Brazil.
His father, Jair Bolsonaro, also went to the US after refusing to concede to Mr Lula in 2022
Mr Bolsonaro’s reported departure risks sharpening tensions between the two most populous countries in the Americas.
The newly elected leftist president has accused Washington of working with the Bolsonaros to return them to power, and Reuters reported ahead of Sunday’s election on a US State Department campaign to restore them to office.
His father, Jair Bolsonaro, also travelled to the US after refusing to concede to Mr Lula in 2022, during former US president Joe Biden’s administration.
He later returned to Brazil, but was eventually sentenced to 27 years for plotting a coup after supporters stormed government buildings in Brasilia.
Mr Trump did not address Mr Bolsonaro’s reported departure when speaking to reporters, but said the Brazilian vote “looked like another rigged election”.
Mr Lula’s office did not respond to a request for comment.
Mr Bolsonaro had been favoured to win the presidential race but suffered a surprise defeat to Mr Lula.
Flavio Bolsonaro said yesterday he had ‘never thought about leaving the country’
On Monday, he was given 24 hours to hand over his passports as part of a money laundering probe, which he denies, but two sources said the documents were cancelled after the deadline passed.
Mr Bolsonaro, whose Senate term ends in February and with it his immunity from prosecution, insisted yesterday he was not preparing to flee.
“I have never thought about leaving the country,” he said.
“I will hand over my passports and defend myself against this travesty, which is a clear attempt to intimidate me,” he added.
Brazil’s Minister of Institutional Relations José Guimarães addressed the reports in an interview with CNN Brasil.
“I have no confirmation from the Federal Police or oversight bodies,” he told the network.
“But this speaks a lot about our opponent’s lack of preparation to govern the country,” he added.
Mr Bolsonaro has still not formally conceded defeat, saying on Sunday he would seek to annul the result over alleged voter irregularities.
His party, however, did acknowledged Mr Lula’s victory.
It was not immediately clear how Mr Bolsonaro could have left Brazil while facing the 24-hour deadline to surrender his passports.
A senior Federal Police official said Mr Bolsonaro had not departed through any regular migration checkpoint.
Eduardo Bolsonaro had suggested before the vote that a loss would prompt a move abroad.
“If my brother does not win, I’m in favour that he would leave the country,” he told podcaster Steven Crowder this month.
