> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.theoceaniacables.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Flávio Bolsonaro Flees to US After Losing Election to Lula - URL: https://www.theoceaniacables.com/flavio-bolsonaro-flees-to-us-after-losing-election-to-lula/ - Published: 2026-10-28T19:46:03.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-28T19:46:03.000Z - Description: Flávio Bolsonaro defied a court passport order and left Brazil for the US the day after losing the runoff to Lula, arriving in Miami. - Author: The Oceania Cables - Tags: Brazil, Election ## **Summary:** Flávio Bolsonaro, the Liberal Party (PL) senator who lost Brazil’s presidential runoff to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on 25 October 2026, left the country for the United States on 27 October, the day a 24-hour deadline to surrender his passports expired. Justice Alexandre de Moraes of the Supreme Federal Court (STF) had ordered the surrender on the night of the vote, in a sealed money-laundering inquiry, and had barred Flávio from leaving Brazil. US officials, family members and allies confirmed the departure, and the State Department said it would issue visas to Flávio and his family. Multiple outlets reported he arrived in Miami, where his brother Eduardo was waiting. Flávio called the order an attempt at intimidation and denied any wrongdoing in the inquiry. Lula called the departure shameful, and lawmakers from his Workers’ Party (PT) asked the court to order Flávio’s arrest and an Interpol Red Notice. The Federal Police, Brazil’s national police force, cancelled his Brazilian passports when the deadline passed. No arrest warrant has been confirmed, and Moraes’s order remains sealed. The departure came two days after Lula won a fourth term with 51.79% of valid votes, a margin of about 4.4 million. Flávio refused to concede on election night, citing a two-hour extension of voting ordered by Justice Cristiano Zanin. His party has since acknowledged the result and shifted to a challenge alleging abuse of power. ## **Detailed Report** ## ### **1\. The Departure and the US Response** Flávio left Brazil on 27 October, two days after the runoff and in breach of a court order that barred him from leaving. Multiple Brazilian and international media, citing US officials and family allies, reported his arrival in Miami. Eduardo Bolsonaro, residing in the US since 2025, traveled from Texas to Florida to receive him. The US State Department confirmed it will issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family, permitting their entry. President Trump confirmed he would approve the visas when questioned by reporters. On 26 October he said the election “looked like another rigged election, frankly” and that he “didn’t take sides.” The exact details of Bolsonaro’s departure remain unclear. Unconfirmed reports state he was assisted via Argentina, though Argentine authorities report no record of his entry into the country, and the Brazilian Federal Police have no record of his exit. Flávio’s campaign coordinator, Rogério Marinho, expressed surprise at the departure, saying he was not informed in advance but understood the decision. The two had met the previous day to discuss Bolsonaro’s role as opposition leader following his electoral defeat. ## ## ### **2\. The Supreme Court Passport Order and Inquiry** On the night of 25 October, Justice Alexandre de Moraes issued a sealed order in a money-laundering inquiry against Bolsonaro and lawyer Willer Tomaz. The order cancelled all Brazilian passports held by Bolsonaro, including his diplomatic passport, required surrender of any foreign passports within 24 hours (Flávio holds Italian citizenship, recognised in 2023), prohibited travel abroad, banned contact with Tomaz, and placed a migration alert on Bolsonaro’s name. Bolsonaro was served the order on 26 October but failed to comply by the deadline. The Federal Police cancelled his Brazilian passports and notified Moraes. The inquiry, originating in Rio Grande do Sul, concerns alleged foreign-exchange evasion and laundering via online betting and film financing. Bolsonaro and Tomaz deny commercial ties. ## ## ### **3\. Justice Moraes’s Measures Against the Bolsonaro Family** Justice Alexandre de Moraes has imposed successive travel and custody measures on members of the Bolsonaro family. Former President Jair Bolsonaro was sentenced in September 2025 to 27 years and 3 months in the 2022 coup-plot case, with Moraes as rapporteur. After a period in closed prison and a hospital stay, Moraes authorised temporary humanitarian house arrest in March 2026 at the family’s Brasília home, subject to an electronic monitor and visitor limits. Flávio visited his father under that order the morning he was served with the passport demand. Eduardo Bolsonaro, Flávio’s brother, was convicted in absentia by the Supreme Federal Court (STF) First Panel in June 2026\. The panel sentenced him to four years and two months for the crime of coercion in the course of a process. Prosecutors alleged the conduct consisted of lobbying United States officials in 2025 for sanctions against Brazil and against STF justices in connection with his father’s trial. Eduardo has lived in the United States since early 2025\. In October 2026 Moraes declared the conviction final, ordered the start of the sentence, directed the issuance of an arrest warrant, and cancelled Eduardo’s Brazilian passports. On 23 October, two days before the runoff, Eduardo said publicly that Flávio should leave Brazil if he lost; Flávio later cited that remark as the stated basis for the passport order against him. Moraes was sanctioned by the United States under the Global Magnitsky Act in July 2025 for alleged judicial overreach, including passport seizures and long preventive detentions; the sanctions on him and his wife were lifted on 12 December 2025\. The sanction described the same pattern of measures Moraes had applied to the Bolsonaro family. ## ## ### **4\. Political Reactions and Legal Challenges** Bolsonaro denied wrongdoing in a video posted on 26 October, calling the passport order intimidation and denying intent to flee. He contested the order’s basis on Eduardo’s podcast remarks, saying: “Is that a reason to take away my passport? Is that justice?” President Lula condemned the departure as “shameful,” highlighting respect for democracy and contrasting his own legal compliance during prior investigations. PT lawmakers requested Bolsonaro’s arrest and an Interpol Red Notice; no arrest warrant has been issued. Federal Police appeared at the Liberal Party’s Brasília headquarters on 27 October in connection with the investigation but did not conduct searches or seizures. Separately, PT federal deputy-elect Pedro Rousseff requested the Attorney General consider seizing the passport of PL deputy Nikolas Ferreira, a vocal Bolsonaro ally and critic of Lula and Moraes, citing Bolsonaro’s departure. No official response has been reported. ## ## ### **5\. Election Results and Voting Extension Controversy** Lula won the 25 October runoff with 51.79% of valid votes, overturning Bolsonaro’s first-round lead. The Superior Electoral Court (TSE) confirmed the result with 80.78% turnout. The election was not without controversy. Justice Cristiano Zanin, an ally of Lula, extended voting hours by two hours until 19:00 nationwide, citing transport failures in Bahia and other regions. This sparked controversy, with critics accusing the STF of overriding the electoral court. TSE President Kassio Nunes Marques maintained that the extension did not affect the election outcome. Salvador’s bus fleet was reduced by 42.1% during voting, with over 940 buses idle. The regional electoral court fined the city R$1 million per hour and ordered the arrest of the Municipal Mobility Secretary for electoral crimes linked to the disruption. Bolsonaro refused to concede on election night, citing unfairness due to the extension. His party later acknowledged the result but focused legal challenges on abuse of power. ## ## ### **Conclusion** Bolsonaro’s departure remains under investigation. No arrest warrant or extradition request has been confirmed. Moraes’s order remains sealed. Lula’s new term begins on 5 January 2027.