Brazilian Sen. Flávio Bolsonaro has reportedly left Brazil for the United States after losing Sunday’s presidential election to incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, as a deadline to surrender his passports expired, according to Reuters.
Two sources told Reuters on Tuesday that Bolsonaro had departed for the United States. Brazilian news outlet Metrópoles separately reported that his flight was headed to Florida, citing people close to his family. His exact whereabouts and arrival time were not immediately confirmed.
The departure came after Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered Bolsonaro to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports within 24 hours as part of a money laundering investigation. Bolsonaro denies wrongdoing. The deadline expired Tuesday, and his travel documents were reportedly canceled.
A senior Brazilian Federal Police official said Bolsonaro had not left the country through any regular immigration checkpoint. It remained unclear how he managed to travel abroad while the passport order was in effect.
Bolsonaro, 45, said Monday that he had no plans to leave Brazil and would surrender his passports while defending himself against what he called an attempt to intimidate him.
Lula won 51.8% of the vote in Sunday’s runoff, defeating Bolsonaro by nearly 4.4 million votes. Bolsonaro has not formally conceded and called for the result to be annulled over alleged voting irregularities. His Liberal Party acknowledged Lula’s victory on Monday.
The reported departure could further strain relations between Brazil and the United States. Lula has accused Washington of working with the Bolsonaro family to return them to power, while President Donald Trump’s administration has accused Brazilian authorities of politically targeting Flávio’s father, former President Jair Bolsonaro.
Jair Bolsonaro also traveled to the United States after losing the 2022 election before eventually returning to Brazil. He was later sentenced to 27 years in prison for plotting a coup.
Flávio Bolsonaro’s Senate term is due to end in February, when he will lose his immunity from prosecution.