Flavio Bolsonaro and family arrive in Miami after Brazil exit

Flavio Bolsonaro and his family landed at the Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport on Wednesday morning, ending a multi-country journey that began after he refused to concede the Brazilian presidential election.

The 45-year-old senator arrived at 9:30 a.m. EDT with his wife, Fernanda Antunes Figueira Bolsonaro, and their two daughters, Carolina and Luiza. Flight tracking data indicates the group traveled from Guayaquil, Ecuador, to the Florida airport shortly after landing in Ecuador around 4 a.m. local time.

Argentina’s migration authority stated that the family entered the country at 10:50 p.m. Tuesday at the Tancredo Neves International Bridge, a border checkpoint connecting Brazil to the Argentine province of Misiones. The authority confirmed the group held valid travel documents and faced no legal barriers to entry.

The family boarded a private charter flight operated by Baires Fly S.A. at 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. The filed flight plan showed the aircraft departing for Guayaquil. A Brazilian diplomat who was not authorized to speak publicly said Bolsonaro used an Italian passport to enter Argentina, allowing him to bypass exit records at Brazilian checkpoints.

Brazil’s Supreme Court had ordered Bolsonaro to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports by noon Tuesday. It remained unclear if he complied, though allies noted late Tuesday that he also holds an Italian passport. The court is investigating him for corruption, money laundering, and tax evasion.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, who turned 81 on Tuesday, spoke to supporters in Brasilia before the family landed in Florida. Lula said he knew Bolsonaro had left Brazil but did not have precise information on his whereabouts.

Lula expressed regret over the departure, stating that Bolsonaro could have stayed to prove the accusations against him were untrue. He described the act of leaving the country as shameful.

Paulo Figueiredo, a close ally living in the United States, issued a statement confirming that Bolsonaro was well and resting with his family. Figueiredo announced that a press conference would be held Thursday in Miami to discuss the case.

The route through Argentina is expected to create diplomatic tension between Brazil and Argentine President Javier Milei. Milei, an ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, had traveled to Brazil to support Bolsonaro’s campaign. Milei’s administration spokesman Adrian Ravier said Tuesday that there was no asylum request from Bolsonaro.

President Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland early Wednesday that he approved of Bolsonaro coming to the United States. He called the senator and his family fine people and described the election as strange and terrible. Lula won the second round of the election by a margin of approximately 4.4 million votes.