The United States will issue visas to Brazilian Senator Flávio Bolsonaro and his family after he lost Brazil's presidential election over the weekend, a senior State Department official told CBS News on Tuesday.1,2,4
The official said Bolsonaro, an ally of President Trump, and his family will be allowed entry into the United States. Axios reported that Trump administration officials said they would not comment further until the Bolsonaro family is safely in the United States. Bolsonaro departed Brazil following his loss to incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Sunday's election, according to multiple Brazilian media reports, CBS News said. The whereabouts of Bolsonaro, a senator, have not been confirmed by his own camp or by officials in Brazil.1,4,8
Reports differed on how he left the country. Reuters, citing two sources, reported that Bolsonaro was headed to the United States, and Bolsonaro's allies reported his escape to CNN Brasil, according to The New Republic. The Brazilian outlet O Globo reported that he "was convinced he could be arrested," and Metropoles reported that he was on his way to Florida to seek asylum. The Daily Wire reported that Argentine media said he had crossed into Argentina and was set to fly from Puerto Iguazú, but Argentina's government denied that he had entered the country, saying its migration authorities had no record of him. Both departure point and destination remain uncertain.3,8
The move follows a Brazilian Supreme Court order requiring Bolsonaro to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports. CBS News reported the order was issued Sunday and viewed by The Associated Press, while Axios said the court ordered it on Monday. Bolsonaro was served the order on Monday, a day after his loss, and said he received it outside the home where his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, is under house arrest. The deadline to surrender the passports expired at noon Tuesday, and it remained unclear whether he had complied, CBS News reported. The Daily Wire said the deadline came and went at 11 a.m. Tuesday with no passport in sight, and that Brazil's Federal Police canceled both his regular and diplomatic passports. The order relates to an ongoing investigation into alleged money laundering, and Bolsonaro has denied any wrongdoing, Axios reported.1,4,8
Lula received more than 64 million votes, compared with fewer than 60 million for Bolsonaro, a margin of nearly 4%, according to CBS News. Bolsonaro has not conceded defeat and has made unsubstantiated allegations of election fraud, CBS News reported. Trump did not offer a full-throated endorsement of Bolsonaro in the runoff, CBS News said, but on Monday he suggested, without providing evidence, that Brazil's election was "rigged."1
CBS News reported that Bolsonaro has touted his relationship with Trump and visited the White House in May. His brother, Eduardo Bolsonaro, who lives in Texas, had publicly encouraged him to leave Brazil if he lost the election, CBS News said. Eduardo Bolsonaro was convicted in absentia in June of illegally lobbying the Trump administration and sentenced to four years in prison, and a warrant was recently issued for his arrest, CBS News reported. Axios reported that President Trump has repeatedly backed the Bolsonaro family and denounced the prosecution of the elder Bolsonaro as a "witch hunt."1,4
Jair Bolsonaro was convicted last year by Brazil's Supreme Court of plotting a coup to overturn the 2022 election and sentenced to 27 years in prison, Axios reported, though he remains under house arrest due to health problems. After his 2022 defeat, Jair Bolsonaro fled Brazil for Florida and returned three months later, CBS News said. Axios reported that the Trump administration has targeted Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversaw the prosecution, with visa restrictions and, separately, sanctions that were later lifted.1,4
The Daily Wire described the former president's son as having dropped out of sight and quoted Flávio Bolsonaro as saying he was "cooling his head" when asked about his whereabouts. The same outlet reported that asked directly whether he was still in Brazil, he did not answer. His campaign coordinator, Rogério Marinho, insists he never left Brazil, according to the Daily Wire. CBS News reported that a spokesperson for Bolsonaro did not respond to a request for comment, and that Marinho refused to comment.8,1
Brazilian authorities are investigating a possible escape, the Daily Wire reported, citing Brazilian officials who said he did not pass through any official border checkpoint. The Daily Wire also reported that Flávio Bolsonaro blasted the officers who served him as "Lula's Federal Police." The New Republic reported that neither Bolsonaro nor the State Department had made a public statement.8,3
The State Department had not immediately returned requests for comment from The Hill, which reported the move as multiple outlets reporting that Bolsonaro had fled Brazil. The New Republic wrote that the Trump administration has been quite friendly to the Bolsonaro family and antagonistic toward Lula's government.7,3
The Trump administration has said it will not comment further until the Bolsonaro family is safely in the United States, Axios reported, leaving open when the visas will be issued and when, or whether, Bolsonaro will arrive in the country.4
