Brazilian Police Say Flávio Bolsonaro Has No Recorded Exit From Country Before Miami Arrival
The senator reportedly travelled overland into Argentina before flying to the US, prompting an inquiry into his unrecorded departure
On Wednesday, the Brazilian Federal Police said they had found no official exit records for Senator Flávio Bolsonaro at any authorised border checkpoint nationwide. This follows the lawmaker's abrupt exit from the country after his defeat in the 25 October presidential runoff against incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered Bolsonaro to surrender his passports, barring him from leaving Brazil.
Brazilian authorities cancelled his regular and diplomatic passports following the court order, and he missed the deadline to surrender any foreign passports. He also travelled through Argentina and Ecuador before arriving at Miami-Opa-locka Executive Airport on Wednesday morning.
The sequence of events has triggered a formal inquiry into how the federal lawmaker left the country while under an active travel ban.
A Land Border, Italian Passport and Private Jet
Bolsonaro travelled overland from Brasília to Foz do Iguaçu before crossing into Argentina with his family. The Federal Police said it had no official record of his departure through Brazil's regular migration checkpoints.
The Federal Police said they had entered a migration alert following the Supreme Court order. Bolsonaro used his Italian passport to enter Argentina, while his wife and two daughters used valid travel documents. To enter the United States, he used a Brazilian diplomatic passport that the Federal Police had cancelled.
US President Donald Trump said he would have approved Bolsonaro's arrival in the United States. A State Department official separately confirmed that the US would issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family.
A Defied Court Order, but Not a Fugitive
On 25 October, the Federal Police asked the Supreme Federal Court to impose precautionary measures, including passport seizure and a ban on leaving Brazil, citing a risk that Bolsonaro would leave the country.
Justice Alexandre de Moraes approved the measures. Bolsonaro was notified on 26 October and given 24 hours to surrender any passports issued by other countries.
Bolsonaro missed the deadline on Tuesday. The Federal Police said his regular and diplomatic passports had been cancelled and a migration alert entered in the Sonar system. That said, Federal Police have emphasised that travel document restrictions alone do not make Bolsonaro a fugitive, considering no arrest warrant has been issued.
The force also said travel-document restrictions alone do not authorise permanent surveillance or other precautionary measures. Police are, however, investigating the circumstances that enabled Bolsonaro to defy the judicial orders.
Legal Repercussions and Opposition in Exile
His exit has drawn criticism inside Brazil. President Lula da Silva publicly condemned the flight, stating that those who have nothing to hide also have nothing to fear.
Authorities emphasised that while Bolsonaro is not classified as a fugitive because no arrest warrant exists, his refusal to yield his credentials is in violation of the Supreme Court orders.
Bolsonaro is under investigation in a money-laundering inquiry involving alleged transactions through online betting platforms. He is also the subject of a separate investigation into the financing of 'Dark Horse', a film about his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro. Bolsonaro denies wrongdoing.
In a statement from the United States, Bolsonaro said he had not fled Brazil but had left for Brazil's sake. Bolsonaro also labelled the judicial actions a 'witch hunt', while promising to coordinate the country's conservative opposition from abroad.
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