Flávio Bolsonaro has declared himself the leader of Brazil after fleeing the country in the wake of his defeat in last Sunday’s presidential election.
Upon arriving in Miami, Florida, on Wednesday morning aboard a private jet with his family, the far-right senator issued a formal statement asserting his status.
This move comes despite his own political party formally recognizing the victory of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, a result also endorsed by all major Brazilian state institutions and international election observers.
Major Brazilian news outlets, including O Globo, Folha de S.Paulo, and O Estado de S.Paulo, characterized the senator’s initial declaration as coup-mongering. Although he initially claimed the title of true president in a letter, he later deleted that post and replaced it with a version identifying himself as the leader of Brazil. This incident occurred after Bolsonaro remained out of public view for over 24 hours following the election results. Including one that used the country’s pre-1968 name and the English spelling “Brazil” rather than the Portuguese “Brasil” – whic, at least three different versions of the letter were published by Bolsonaro and his allies.
Investigations by Argentinian migration authorities confirmed that Bolsonaro entered their country by land on Tuesday evening. He subsequently boarded a Gulfstream IV jet—registered as LV-JQW—that had been stationed at Puerto Iguazú airport. The flight, carrying his wife and two daughters, departed at approximately 11:30 p.m., routing through Guayaquil, Ecuador, in an apparent effort to bypass Brazilian airspace before reaching Miami’s Opa-Locka executive airport at 9:24 a.m. on Wednesday. According to after losing Sunday’s runoff vote to Lula, Bolsonaro disappeared for more than 24 hours, until Argentina’s migration authorities, He had entered the country by land on Tuesday night. According to from there he boarded a Gulfstream IV, registered LV-JQW, which had been parked at Puerto Iguazú airport since the early hours of the previous morning, when the first, Emerged in Argentinian media that he intended to flee on it. Bolsonaro, the son of the jailed former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, took off on the jet with his wife and two teenage daughters at about 11.30pm, bound for Guayaquil in Ecuador, reportedly to avoid Brazilian airspace. A private aviation hub about 11 miles north of downtown Miami catering to corporate executives and wealthy travelers, they made a brief stop in Ecuador and continued on to the Miami-Opa Locka airport. Bolsonaro, wearing a black bulletproof vest and looking somber, and his family emerged from the plane into a postcard-perfect sunny south Florida morning at 9.24am. “Well, I’m not going to make a comment about that, but I know that we gave him a pass to come into the country, so we’ll see,” he said. “But I won’t get involved. According to their first homeland is licking the boots of the US, as they’ve become accustomed to doing,” he, At an event celebrating his 81st birthday in Brasília. “They’re fine people. … I didn’t take sides, you know. Some in the Brazilian government suspected Bolsonaro allies had spent Tuesday privately telling the press he was already on his way to the US to distract from his real plan to go through Argentina. The former president himself spent three months in Florida shortly after losing the 2022 election.
Upon landing, the senator was observed wearing a bulletproof vest and was quickly transported away from the airport by a private vehicle under police escort. No supporters were present at the scene, and journalists were held at a distance by two Customs and Border Protection officers. In his subsequent letter, Bolsonaro thanked Argentinian President Javier Milei for his support and expressed gratitude toward Donald Trump for facilitating his entry into the United States. Shielded by black umbrellas, climbing into a dark gray Ford Expedition Max and speeding away under police escort, they briefly remained inside the airport before leaving. According to bolsonaro, Nothing to reporters before boarding the vehicle and the mood was low-key, without any supporters present to welcome him and only two dozen journalists who were kept at a distance by two Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents. Or where he was during that time, it remains unclear how or when he travelled to the border. Footage from a television channel there shows two vans crossing the border checkpoint and then being escorted by airport security officers to the airport.
Bolsonaro’s departure has sparked significant controversy regarding his legal status. He is currently a subject of multiple criminal inquiries, including a high-profile investigation into an alleged money-laundering operation involving betting firms, estimated to be worth approximately £680 million or $905 million. Prior to his flight, federal police had requested that the supreme court seize his passport due to concerns that he would attempt to escape justice. Without evidence, his claim that there had been “electoral fraud” – a claim rejected by Brazil’s electoral court and supreme court, as well as the presidents of the lower house and senate, he again repeated. The patriarch of the Bolsonaro clan used a soldering iron in an attempt to destroy his electronic ankle monitor, while under house arrest after being sentenced to 27 years in prison.
These concerns were amplified by earlier public comments from his brother, Eduardo Bolsonaro, who had suggested on a US podcast that the senator should refuse to concede if defeated and relocate to the United States. Reports from O Globo indicate that the flight plan was coordinated over several weeks as a contingency strategy, with Eduardo acting as a primary liaison with American officials.
The aircraft used in the escape reportedly belongs to businessman Sergio Daniel Mastropietro, a figure linked to a significant corruption scandal in Argentina regarding medical supply procurement. Meanwhile, current President Lula dismissed the flight as a shameful act, accusing the Bolsonaro family of prioritizing allegiance to the United States over their home nation. According to the Argentinian newspaper Página/12, The aircraft belonged to the businessman Sergio Daniel Mastropietro, who was investigated by local police in one of the biggest scandals of Javier Milei’s administration.
While Brazilian newspapers reported that the family obtained humanitarian visas, US officials have remained cautious. President Trump confirmed providing entry clearance but stated he would not involve himself in Brazil’s domestic political disputes, describing the recent election as very strange. Questions persist regarding the senator’s movements between his last sighting on Monday evening and his arrival at the Argentinian border, as authorities continue to face scrutiny over the circumstances of his departure.
