Flávio Bolsonaro crosses into Argentina before passport deadline

Flávio Bolsonaro, the defeated Brazilian presidential candidate, left Brazil for Argentina on Wednesday hours before a court-ordered deadline expired. The 45-year-old senator, his wife Fernanda Antunes Figueira Bolsonaro, and their two daughters, Carolina and Luiza, crossed the border at 10:50 p.m. local time. Argentina's migration authority confirmed the group entered via the Tancredo Neves International Bridge, a key checkpoint connecting Brazil to Argentina’s Misiones province.

The Brazilian Supreme Court had ordered Flávio Bolsonaro to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports. The deadline for compliance passed at noon Tuesday. While it remained unclear if he turned them in, allies stated late Tuesday that he also holds an Italian passport. The family was granted United States visas by the Trump administration the day before their departure.

Shortly after clearing immigration, the four boarded a private charter flight operated by Baires Fly S.A. at 11:30 p.m. The filed flight plan indicated the aircraft departed for Guayaquil, Ecuador. Argentine officials noted the group possessed valid travel documents and faced no legal impediments to entry. The transit was recorded without incident.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who turned 81 on Tuesday, addressed a small group of supporters in Brasilia. He stated he lacked precise information on Bolsonaro’s location but confirmed he had left the country. Lula expressed regret over the departure, arguing Bolsonaro should have stayed to prove accusations against him were false. The president called the act of leaving Brazil shameful.

The move threatens diplomatic ties between Brazil and Argentina. President Javier Milei traveled to Brazil to support Bolsonaro’s campaign. Lula was reelected in the final round by a margin of approximately 4.4 million votes. The Organization of American States and global leaders had previously endorsed the election results and congratulated Lula on his victory.

U.S. President Donald Trump told reporters at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, that he would approve of Bolsonaro coming to the United States. Trump described the former senator and his family as fine people. He characterized the Brazilian election as strange and terrible, though he did not elaborate on his remarks. Neither the Brazilian government nor Bolsonaro’s representatives immediately responded to requests for comment.

Flávio Bolsonaro was served with the court order on Monday. In a video, he said he received the document outside the home where his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, is serving a 27-year sentence under house arrest. Jair Bolsonaro lost the 2022 election to Lula, fled to Florida, and returned to Brazil three months later.