Brazil: Has Flávio Bolsonaro left the country? Reports conflict
U.S. officials confirmed his departure, but police say his passports were cancelled and there is no record of him leaving. His campaign denies it.
Archive image · Photo: Agência Senado from Brasilia, Brazil / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0 (cropped and resized)
Brazilian candidate Flávio Bolsonaro has reportedly left the country after losing the runoff to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Argentine outlet Infobae reported that he arrived in Puerto Iguazú around 2 a.m. on Oct. 27 using his national ID card, intending to continue to the United States on a private flight. U.S. officials confirmed the departure to CNN and Reuters, and the newspaper Metrópoles reported that Miami was his destination. Allies claim the Trump administration knew and intends to grant him asylum.
Campaign coordinator Rogério Marinho denied that Bolsonaro had left Brazil, and Argentina's government also rejected the reports. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes had ordered him to surrender his passports to the Federal Police. A police source told AFP the passports had been cancelled and there was no formal record of him leaving. In a video on Monday, Flávio Bolsonaro said he "never had any intention of leaving the country"; his Liberal Party has recognized the election result. Trump called the vote "rigged" without evidence.