On Tuesday, President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called former presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro’s flight from Brazil to the United States a shameful act.
RELATED:
Venezuelan Acting President Welcomes Lula’s Victory in Brazil
During a celebration of his 81st birthday in Brasilia, Lula said the far-right senator should have remained in the country to answer the criminal accusations against him.
“Those who have nothing to hide have nothing to fear. Democracy must be respected in victory and defeat. Brazil is our home, and it is here that we must face challenges, respect the justice system, and defend our country’s sovereignty,” the Workers’ Party leader said.
Lula then recalled that he had decided to remain in Brazil and serve prison time to “unmask” his accusers and prove his innocence in the Lava Jato case.
Earlier, Worker’s Party lawmakers asked Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes to order Flavio’s preventive detention and add him to Interpol’s Red Notice list.
Throughout Tuesday, Brazilian and Argentine media outlets tried to establish Flavio Bolsonaro’s whereabouts. The son of former President Jair Bolsonaro is already on U.S. soil with his wife and two daughters, a source close to his family told EFE.
However, no news about Flavio emerged throughout the day, and secrecy still surrounds his departure route and destination city in the United States.
“We still have no information about his whereabouts, only some reports that have appeared in the press,” Sen. Rogerio Marinho, Bolsonaro’s former presidential campaign coordinator, said.
“I received a message from him on my cellphone, a text message, in which he said he wanted to take some time for himself today and would speak with us later,” he told reporters after a meeting with Liberal Party leaders.
Following his electoral defeat, Flavio will also lose his seat in the Senate next February, when the new legislative session begins, marking the first time since 2003 that he will not hold public office.
An electoral victory for the far-right politician would have halted investigations against him, as Brazilian presidents cannot be held accountable during their terms for acts committed before their inauguration.
Timeline of the Flight
The day began with front-page reports in major local media outlets that Bolsonaro had left the country, defying a Supreme Court order barring him from leaving Brazil and requiring him to immediately surrender his regular and diplomatic passports.
On Monday, Justice Alexandre de Moraes, the rapporteur in the trial that ended with Jair Bolsonaro’s conviction for attempting a coup, gave Flavio 24 hours to surrender his travel documents as part of a money laundering case being handled under seal.
That same day, the 45-year-old senator posted a video on social media saying he had no intention of leaving Brazil, that he would surrender his passports and that he would defend himself against what he described as a “clear attempt at intimidation.” However, the Federal Police canceled the documents on Tuesday after the deadline to surrender them expired.
By then, Flavio Bolsonaro was already on his way to the United States. Argentine media outlets reported that the far-right politician had crossed the border into Argentina to board a private plane bound for the United States from the city of Puerto Iguazu, in Misiones province.
However, the Argentine government said there was no record of the lawmaker entering the country and no formal asylum request.
On Tuesday, President Donald Trump’s administration confirmed that it would issue visas and formally receive Bolsonaro and his family. Trump, a close ally of the Bolsonaro clan, called Brazil’s election “fraudulent,” although he added that he does not govern Brazil when asked whether he would take any action in response.
Flavio will reunite with his brother Eduardo Bolsonaro, who has been living in the United States since March 2025 after fleeing Brazilian justice.
teleSUR/ JF
Sources: EFE – X
teleSUR: JP
