The full reportThe full report

Summary

Flávio Bolsonaro, a right-wing Brazilian senator, lost the presidential runoff on Sunday, October 25, 2026, to President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who is on the left; the president of Brazil's top electoral court has confirmed the result, and formal certification is scheduled for December 18. The next day he was served with a Supreme Federal Court order to hand over his passports within 24 hours as part of a criminal investigation. He missed the deadline, Brazilian authorities canceled the passports, and on Wednesday, October 28, he landed near Miami with his wife and two daughters. The State Department says it will issue them visas. Bolsonaro denies the investigations' allegations and says he did not flee. He also says the election was stolen from him.

What happened

Lula won 51.79% of the vote to Bolsonaro's 48.21%, a margin of about 4.4 million votes (BBC). Bolsonaro had won the first round on October 4 with 47% to Lula's 45%. On election day a Supreme Court justice, Cristiano Zanin, extended voting nationwide by two hours; both campaigns had asked for more time, Lula's citing a lack of buses in São Paulo and Bahia and Bolsonaro's citing heavy rain in the south and in São Paulo (BBC). Reuters, citing an analysis of electoral records by Pedro Burgos, a professor at Insper, a university in São Paulo, reported that fewer than 35,000 votes, about 0.03% of the total, were cast in the extra two hours (Reuters, via the New York Post). The president of the Superior Electoral Court, Kássio Nunes Marques, who was appointed by Jair Bolsonaro, confirmed Lula's victory and said the extension did not change the outcome (BBC).

On Monday, October 26, Bolsonaro said in a video that police had served him in person with an order to hand over his passports and told him he could not leave Brazil (BBC; CNN). The order came from Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes and gave him 24 hours. Brazil's Federal Police said it had asked for the seizure after identifying a risk that he would leave the country (CNN). When the deadline passed at about noon on Tuesday, Brazilian authorities canceled the passports and ordered police to check border posts (BBC). His lawyers told BBC Brasil they were "completely in the dark" about where he was (BBC).

Argentina's migration authorities said Bolsonaro, his wife and two daughters crossed the land border from Brazil late Tuesday with "valid documentation" and without any "legal impediment," then boarded a private flight to Guayaquil, Ecuador (CNN). Flight-tracking data verified by the BBC shows the jet leaving Puerto Iguazú, Argentina, at 03:18 GMT on Wednesday and, after a stop in Guayaquil, landing at Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport, where the family was pictured getting off just before 9:30 a.m. local time (BBC). Brazil's Federal Police said "there is no official record" of him leaving through Brazilian immigration control points (CNN). Which document he used is not confirmed: Brazilians can enter Argentina with only a national ID card under the Mercosur trade bloc's rules, and AFP reported seeing an Italian parliamentary document suggesting he has held Italian citizenship since 2023 (BBC).

On Tuesday, a senior State Department official said, "the State Department will issue visas to Flávio Bolsonaro and his family and allow them entry into the United States" (AP, via MS NOW). On Wednesday, President Donald Trump told reporters, "We gave him a pass to come into the country" (BBC).

Outlets use different words for his departure. Ten of the 15 headlines on our panel, from the left, center and right, say he fled; Bolsonaro says, "I did not flee Brazil; I left for the sake of Brazil" (BBC). This report says he left.

The investigations and the passport order

Flávio Bolsonaro, 45, is finishing an eight-year term in Brazil's Senate. While he is a senator, his cases are heard by Brazil's highest court, the Supreme Federal Court, under what the AP calls special jurisdiction (AP, via MS NOW). He is the subject of two investigations pending before it (BBC). He has not been charged (BBC), and there was no warrant for his arrest when he left (CNN).

• The film money. One inquiry concerns possible irregularities in the transfer of nearly $70 million from a private bank, Banco Master, to Dark Horse, a biographical film about his father (BBC). Banco Master has since collapsed; CNN describes it as being at the heart of a $7 billion Ponzi-like scheme in 2025 (CNN). The AP describes this case as an accusation that he accepted millions of dollars from a banker (AP, via MS NOW).
• Alleged money laundering. The second inquiry concerns alleged money laundering (BBC). The AP says it involves accusations that a sports betting company was used to launder money taken through fraudulent deductions from government pensions (AP, via MS NOW). The BBC says it involves alleged links to a lawyer accused of laundering more than $1 billion, and that police said this month he had access to the bank accounts of a company the lawyer owns; Bolsonaro denies doing business with the lawyer (BBC).

He denies wrongdoing in both (BBC). A passport order is a step in an investigation, not a charge: it keeps someone under investigation from leaving the country.

How we got here

• December 2022: Jair Bolsonaro, Flávio's father, left Brazil for Florida after losing the 2022 election to Lula, before Lula took office (BBC).
• January 8, 2023: His supporters stormed Brazil's government buildings and Supreme Court while he was still in the U.S. He was later convicted of attempting a coup and sentenced to 27 years; he is serving the sentence under house arrest (BBC; AP, via MS NOW).
• May 2026: Flávio Bolsonaro visited the White House (AP, via MS NOW).
• June 2026: His brother Eduardo Bolsonaro, who lives in Texas, was convicted in absentia of illegally lobbying the Trump administration, in an effort the BBC says was meant to influence their father's trial, and sentenced to four years (AP, via MS NOW; BBC).
• October 4, 2026: Flávio Bolsonaro won the first round, 47% to 45% (BBC).
• October 25: Lula won the runoff. Voting was extended by two hours. The sealed Supreme Court order on Bolsonaro's passports was issued the same day (AP, via MS NOW).
• October 26: Bolsonaro was served with the order. He asked the electoral court to investigate alleged fraud and to void Lula's and Vice President Geraldo Alckmin's candidacies (AP, via MS NOW). Trump said, "I didn't take sides, but it looked like another rigged election," and "It looked very bad to me" (BBC).
• By October 27: His Liberal Party said it recognized the result; party head Valdemar Costa Neto added that "the issues raised need to be properly clarified" (CNN). The passport deadline passed and the passports were canceled (BBC). The Supreme Court ordered police to examine alleged foreign funding of his campaign (BBC). The State Department said it would issue visas (AP, via MS NOW). The family crossed into Argentina that night.
• October 28: The family landed near Miami, and Bolsonaro released an open letter (BBC).

What each side says

Flávio Bolsonaro and his allies. In his letter on Wednesday, Bolsonaro wrote: "I departed from a regime of exception so that I could become the leader my people deserve." He called himself the victim of a coup d'état and of political persecution (BBC). He said he traveled to the U.S. to protect his family (BBC), that he left to avoid being imprisoned and censored, and that he will lead Brazil's opposition from the United States (CNN). "I want to say, not only to my 60 million voters but to the Brazilian people, that I am the elected president and that the criminals who stole Brazil's election are part of a criminal organization that has established a tyranny," he wrote (Reuters, via the New York Post). He has called the voting extension, ordered by a justice who was once Lula's lawyer, a "dirty trick" (BBC; BBC). Of the passport order, he said on Monday: "I will hand over my passports and I will defend myself from this aberration. It is a clear attempt to intimidate me. But I will not be silenced." He says Justice de Moraes is a Lula ally (AP, via MS NOW).

President Lula. In his victory speech, Lula called his win "a defeat for denialism and lies" and said, "No one is required to like the president-elect, but he must govern for everyone" (Fox News). On Tuesday he told supporters that Bolsonaro's departure was "shameful" and that he could have stayed to fight his accusers in court: "Regrettably, that is the Bolsonaro family for you. Brazil is their second homeland; their first homeland is the United States" (CNN). He also said "those who have nothing to hide have nothing to fear" (BBC). In the AP's translation of his remarks on Tuesday, he said: "Those who are not liable do not fear. A fellow that secretly leaves his country, that's because he is liable for something." The AP also quoted him saying the family's first country "is licking American boots" (AP, via MS NOW).

The U.S. government. The State Department official spoke on condition of anonymity, citing visa privacy laws (AP, via MS NOW). Trump said on Tuesday night, "I would approve. I think they're fine people. The election was very strange, and I thought it was terrible" (CNN). On Wednesday he declined to discuss Bolsonaro's fraud allegations: "I won't get involved. It was a very strange election, that's for sure." He said he thought Bolsonaro "and his family were treated very unfairly" (BBC).

What happens next

• The result. The results are due to be certified on December 18. To overturn them, Bolsonaro would have to present evidence of fraud affecting Lula's 4.4 million-vote margin and convince the electoral court (AP, via MS NOW). Lula's fourth term is set to begin on January 5 (BBC).
• The investigations. Bolsonaro's Senate term ends on January 31, 2027, and with it his cases' place at the Supreme Court (AP, via MS NOW). CNN reports legal analysts saying that defying the passport order could be enough for a warrant to be issued (CNN). The separate inquiry into alleged foreign funding of his campaign, ordered Tuesday, is new. CNN reports it concerns whether the Rockbridge Network, a U.S. conservative group co-founded by Vice President JD Vance, was involved in discussions about foreign financial support for the campaign; CNN said it had asked Vance's office for comment (CNN).
• His plans. Bolsonaro says he will lead Brazil's opposition from the United States (CNN). The BBC says it is not yet clear where he will ultimately go or how long he will stay in the U.S. (BBC). Breitbart, citing Argentine and Brazilian outlets, reported that the family is expected to request political asylum (Breitbart); we could not confirm that. His campaign manager, Rogério Marinho, said the departure surprised the campaign, which had discussed the need for him to lead the opposition, given "the roughly 60 million votes he received" (CNN).

How it was covered

15 of the 15 outlets on our panel covered it: 5 of 5 on the left, 5 of 5 in the center and 5 of 5 on the right (checked October 28, 2026). The Reel showed one headline per side: The New York Times, "Flávio Bolsonaro Lands in Miami After Fleeing Brazil"; Reuters, "Brazil's Flavio Bolsonaro arrives in US after election defeat"; and the New York Post, "Brazil's Flavio Bolsonaro arrives in Miami as Trump approves his refuge in US." We found a story from every outlet on the panel. Every outlet's headline, link and date is on the [story page](/stories/2026-10-28-flavio-bolsonaro-miami/#coverage). [How we rate outlets and count coverage](/method/).

Sources

The [story page](/stories/2026-10-28-flavio-bolsonaro-miami/#sources) lists the main sources; every other source is linked in the text above.

Corrections

None as of October 28, 2026. See the [corrections log](/stories/2026-10-28-flavio-bolsonaro-miami/#corrections).