A senior US state department official has said Brazilian opposition candidate Flávio Bolsonaro and his family will be granted US visas after his weekend defeat to incumbent president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
Bolsonaro, who had president Donald Trump’s tacit support, had been under investigation for corruption, money laundering and tax evasion in Brazil and had been ordered to surrender his passport.
The US state department official did not say if Bolsonaro had already left Brazil or if he and his family were en route to the US.
Bolsonaro was reported to have left Brazil after refusing to comply with a supreme court order to hand over his passports, two sources said.
Bolsonaro was favoured to win Sunday’s presidential election but ended up losing in a shock result to leftist incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.
On Monday, he was given 24 hours to hand in his passports as part of a money-laundering investigation in which he denies wrongdoing, but that deadline has now lapsed, two other sources said, leading to his documents being cancelled.
Flavio’s father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, also went to the United States after refusing to concede losing to Lula in 2022.
[ The question gripping Brazil: Has Trump ally Flávio Bolsonaro fled to the US?Opens in new window ]
He eventually returned to Brazil but was later given a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup. His son has yet to officially concede defeat – saying on Sunday he would seek the annulment of the result over alleged voter irregularities – but his Liberal Party said on Monday it acknowledged Lula’s victory.
A senior Brazilian Federal Police official said Bolsonaro has not exited the country via any regular migration point.
Right-wing influencer Paulo Figueiredo, who serves as a sort of unofficial spokesperson for the Bolsonaro family, declined to answer questions about Bolsonaro’s whereabouts.
“After months of intense work that has been unfairly thwarted, I am not in the mood to speak to the press,” he said in a message. “If I have any comments to make on any matter, I will get in touch.”
Eduardo Bolsonaro, Bolsonaro’s younger brother who lives in the United States, said ahead of the vote that an election loss would require a move.
“If my brother does not win, I’m in favour that he would leave the country,” he told podcaster Steven Crowder this month. – Reuters/AP