Senator Flavio Bolsonaro reportedly left the country after losing to Lula and defying a court order to surrender his passports<\/p>\n
Right-wing Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro has fled to the US following his election defeat to incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, Reuters and Brazilian news outlet Jovem Pan reported on Tuesday, citing sources.
\nA senior US State Department official told AP on Tuesday that Bolsonaro and his family would be granted US visas.
\nBolsonaro, the son of jailed former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and an ally of US President Donald Trump, narrowly lost Sunday\u2019s runoff to Lula despite receiving more votes in the first round earlier this month.
\nHe is under investigation for money laundering and currency evasion involving financial ties to lawyer Willer Tomaz and businesses linked to online gambling.\u00a0Bolsonaro also faces a separate investigation into suspected irregularities in the financing of Dark Horse, a biographical film about his father. Bolsonaro denies wrongdoing.
\nHis brother Eduardo, also a politician, moved to the US in February 2025, citing fears of political persecution and arrest. He was subsequently convicted of attempting to interfere with judicial proceedings against his father by lobbying Washington to impose sanctions on Brazilian officials. Eduardo, who remains in the US, was sentenced to four years and two months in prison in June 2026.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Trump suggests Brazil election was rigged (VIDEO)<\/p>\n
Flavio Bolsonaro initially refused to recognize the election results and vowed to seek their annulment, citing a two-hour extension of voting.
\n\u201cThey will not silence me. They will not intimidate me. Let\u2019s hold our heads high and keep fighting for our Brazil, whatever happens,\u201d Bolsonaro said in a video posted Monday, although he later dropped his demand for annulment.
\nLater on Monday, Bolsonaro was given 24 hours to surrender his passports as part of the investigation involving Tomaz. The documents were reportedly canceled on Tuesday after he missed the deadline. Bolsonaro, who could face prosecution in lower courts when his Senate term ends on January 31, had insisted on Monday that he had no plans to flee.
\nTrump also questioned the election results. \u201cIt had a very bad look, the election, the way it was tabulated,\u201d he told reporters on Monday. \u201cThe extension given was very strange.\u201d
\nBoth campaigns had requested a two-hour extension of voting on election day, citing difficulties for voters, according to Brazil\u2019s Superior Electoral Court.<\/p>\n
Read more<\/p>\n
Brazil handed Washington a setback it won\u2019t forgive<\/p>\n
Bolsonaro\u2019s father is serving a 27-year prison sentence for plotting a coup after losing the 2022 election to Lula. The elder Bolsonaro had also traveled to the US following his defeat before returning to Brazil. He denied wrongdoing and argued that the case was politically motivated.
\nLula previously served two presidential terms from 2003 to 2010. He was barred from running in the 2018 election after being convicted on corruption charges and imprisoned. Brazil\u2019s Supreme Court later annulled his convictions, restoring his political rights and allowing him to run in 2022, when he defeated Jair Bolsonaro. Lula has also denied wrongdoing and maintained that the corruption case against him was politically motivated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Senator Flavio Bolsonaro reportedly left the country after losing to Lula and defying a court order to surrender his passports Right-wing Brazilian Senator Flavio Bolsonaro has fled to the US…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":40656,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":""},"categories":[4,6,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-40655","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-economy","category-environment","category-politics"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t