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Brazilian Senator Flávio Bolsonaro disembarked from a private plane at Opa-locka Executive Airport near Miami on the morning of October 28, 2026, dressed in a dark polo shirt and accompanied by his wife Fernanda Antunes Figueira Bolsonaro and their two daughters, according to Reuters photographs and reporting by Al Jazeera. The family was quickly escorted into an SUV after landing around 9:30 a.m. local time, ending days of speculation over his whereabouts following his election loss. Al Jazeera’s John Holman, reporting from outside the airport, confirmed the group had been whisked away shortly after arrival while photographers swarmed the scene.
Incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva secured reelection in Sunday’s runoff with 51.8 percent of the vote to Flávio Bolsonaro’s 48.2 percent, a narrow victory that CBS News described as bucking a recent trend of conservative wins across Latin America. The defeated candidate, who is the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, has refused to concede and filed a request with electoral authorities to investigate alleged fraud related to extended polling hours, according to reports from the Financial Times. A cousin close to the family told BBC Brasil that the senator had reached the United States, aligning with multiple accounts of his departure.
A Supreme Court justice ordered Flávio Bolsonaro to surrender both his regular and diplomatic passports within 24 hours on Monday due to his alleged involvement in a money-laundering scheme connected to online gambling, EL PAÍS reported citing court documents. When he failed to comply with the deadline that expired at noon on Tuesday, Brazilian federal police canceled the documents, as detailed in accounts from Folha de S. Paulo and Reuters. The senator has denied any wrongdoing and has not been formally charged in the case.
Argentine immigration authorities confirmed that Flávio Bolsonaro and his family crossed into Argentina late Tuesday night before boarding a private plane operated by Baires Fly, according to CBS News and flight tracking data shared by the Financial Times. The aircraft stopped briefly in Guayaquil, Ecuador, for refueling prior to continuing to Miami, a route facilitated by right-wing governments in Argentina and Ecuador that maintain close ties to U.S. President Donald Trump, Al Jazeera noted in its coverage. Both countries served as stepping stones for the journey, with the U.S. State Department confirming it had issued visas to the entire family.
President Lula criticized the departure, stating that “Brazil is their second nation, the U.S. is the first” and adding that “those who have nothing to hide have nothing to fear,” according to Reuters and PBS NewsHour reports. In contrast, Trump told reporters that he approved of the Bolsonaros coming to the United States, describing them as “fine people” while noting he had heard the family was in Argentina at one point, as quoted in CBS News dispatches. The U.S. decision to grant entry comes despite an extradition treaty between Washington and Brasília, with observers anticipating protection under the current American administration.
Flávio Bolsonaro’s arrival in Florida also reunited him with his brother Eduardo Bolsonaro, who has been living in self-imposed exile in the United States, the Financial Times reported based on sources briefed on the matter. The episode has heightened tensions between the Lula government in Brasília and the Trump administration in Washington, potentially straining diplomatic relations further, according to analysis in EL PAÍS. Background on the case indicates the investigations stem from federal police probes into corruption that began before the election campaign intensified.
