Defeated Brazilian Presidential Candidate Flavio Bolsonaro Arrives In US Despite Passport Order

ISTANBUL, Oct 29 – Defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro arrived in Miami, Florida, on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, despite a Brazilian court order requiring him to surrender his passports as part of an ongoing corruption and money laundering probe.

Bolsonaro, the son of former President Jair Bolsonaro, lost Sunday’s presidential election to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The Brazilian Federal Police officially canceled Bolsonaro’s regular and diplomatic passports on Tuesday morning after he failed to comply with a Supreme Court deadline to surrender his travel documents.

A senior US State Department official confirmed that Bolsonaro, his wife Fernanda Antunes Figueira Bolsonaro, and their daughters Carolina and Luiza were granted visas to enter the United States.

Flight-tracking records revealed that the family traveled overland into Argentina through the Tancredo Neves International Bridge in Misiones province on October 27.

Argentine immigration officials confirmed the family faced no legal entry impediments at the border and subsequently boarded a private Baires Fly S.A. flight bound for Guayaquil, Ecuador, before flying via Gulfstream jet to Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport.

Commenting on the arrival, US President Donald Trump stated he approved the pass for Bolsonaro to enter the country while continuing to critique Brazil’s presidential election process.

“So we’ll see — but I won’t get involved,” Trump told reporters, calling the race a “very strange election” before departing for a rally in Ohio.

Flight Itinerary, Travel Discrepancies, and Judicial Probe Context

Key background facts, travel timeline, and legal investigations include:

• Legal Investigation Scope: Flavio Bolsonaro is under active judicial investigation over suspected links to a banker accused of financial misconduct and an individual suspected of illicit money laundering.
• Passport Revocation: The Brazilian Supreme Court ordered the surrender of Bolsonaro’s travel documents, leading Federal Police to revoke his diplomatic and regular passports on Tuesday.
• Escape Route Itinerary: The family crossed from Brazil into Argentina by road, departed on a private charter flight to Guayaquil, Ecuador, and transferred to a private Gulfstream jet landing in Miami, Florida.
• US Diplomatic & Executive Clearance: The US State Department issued visas to the family, and President Donald Trump confirmed granting passage into the country.

–NMT