Flavio Bolsonaro Lands in Miami After 4.4 Million Vote Defeat

4.4 million. That is the vote margin by which Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva defeated Flavio Bolsonaro in the Brazilian presidential runoff on Sunday. The defeated candidate, a 45-year-old senator and close ally of U.S. President Donald Trump, arrived in Miami on Wednesday morning after a multi-country journey that bypassed Brazil’s Supreme Court orders regarding his travel documents.

Bolsonaro left Brazil late Tuesday with his wife and two daughters. According to Argentinian immigration officials and flight data from Flightradar24, the family entered Argentina via a land border checkpoint before boarding a private charter plane. The aircraft landed in Guayaquil, Ecuador, at approximately 4:00 a.m. local time. It took off minutes later for Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport, where it landed around 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

The Brazilian Supreme Court had ordered Bolsonaro to hand over his regular and diplomatic passports by noon Tuesday. It remained unclear if he complied, though allies noted he also holds an Italian passport. A Brazilian diplomat who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity said Bolsonaro used that Italian passport to enter Argentina. The diplomat added that Brazilian authorities do not scrutinize citizens leaving via land borders, and federal police were not monitoring the senator’s departure from his Brasilia home because no arrest warrant had been issued.

Bolsonaro stepped off the plane in a dark polo shirt, flanked by his family. Florida hosts the largest population of Brazilians in the United States. Before the family landed, Lula, who turned 81 on Tuesday, addressed supporters outside the presidential residence in Brasilia. He called the departure shameful and said he regretted Bolsonaro leaving instead of staying to prove the accusations against him were false.

The route through Argentina may strain relations between Brazil and President Javier Milei’s government. Milei, another Trump ally, traveled to Brazil to support Bolsonaro’s campaign. His spokesperson, Juan Pablo Carreira, posted on social media that the administration rescued Bolsonaro from the claws of communism, which seeks to imprison opposition figures. Brazilian government representatives have not yet responded to requests for comment.

Trump welcomed the family at the White House, calling them fine people. He told reporters at Joint Base Andrews that the election was strange and terrible, and previously claimed without evidence that the vote was rigged. The Organization of American States and world leaders have endorsed Lula’s victory. Trump’s administration approved U.S. visas for Bolsonaro and his family this week.

Bolsonaro visited his father, Jair Bolsonaro, before leaving. The former president is under house arrest in Brasilia while serving a 27-year sentence for an attempted coup following his 2022 loss. Flavio Bolsonaro is under investigation by Brazil’s Supreme Court for corruption, money laundering, and tax evasion. The probe alleges he used a sports betting company to launder fraudulent deductions from government pensions and accepted millions of dollars from a banker. Bolsonaro has denied wrongdoing. His term as senator expires on Jan. 31, 2027.