Sources close to the Bolsonaro family told Brazilian news website Metrópoles that the senator was on his way to the US. “The plane is in flight,” the outlet reported, although it did not specify the aircraft’s departure point.
According to Metrópoles, allies of Bolsonaro said he was expected to arrive in Florida on Tuesday afternoon and planned to seek political asylum. The report added that the administration of US President Donald Trump had been informed of the development.
Sources close to the senator also confirmed his reported departure to newspaper Folha de S.Paulo, saying the plan had been “organized and enabled by a lawyer close to the Bolsonaro clan”. The newspaper reported that the flight was expected to land within hours.
CNN Brasil also reported that Bolsonaro had travelled to the United States with his wife and two daughters in the early hours of Tuesday.
Meanwhile, lawmakers from President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva’s Workers’ Party (PT) have asked the Supreme Court to order Bolsonaro’s arrest and requested that his name be placed on Interpol’s Red Notice list.
The senator had reportedly not been seen since Monday and missed a Tuesday-morning deadline to surrender his passport to the Federal Police.
Argentine news website Infobae reported that Bolsonaro had allegedly travelled to Argentina on Monday night, where he was expected to board a private jet in Puerto Iguazú bound for the United States. However, the aircraft reportedly did not take off.
Bolsonaro, who has yet to formally concede defeat to Lula, posted a video on Monday addressing the reported cancellation of his passport. In the video, he said: “I never thought about leaving the country.”
His father, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, also travelled to the United States after refusing to concede defeat to Lula in the 2022 election.
Jair Bolsonaro eventually returned to Brazil but was later sentenced to 27 years in prison for plotting a coup.
Flavio Bolsonaro has yet to formally concede defeat, saying on Sunday that he would seek the annulment of the election result over alleged voter irregularities. However, his Liberal Party said on Monday that it recognised Lula’s victory.
The reports of Flavio Bolsonaro’s departure and his alleged plans to seek asylum have not been independently confirmed.
