Brazilian federal police face criticism over failure to prevent Flávio Bolsonaro’s departure
A Gulfstream IV carrying Brazilian senator Flávio Bolsonaro left Guayaquil, Ecuador, on Wednesday and was expected to reach Miami around mid-morning. Flávio Bolsonaro, his wife and two daughters boarded the aircraft, registered LV-JQW, in Puerto Iguazú at about 11:30 p.m. Tuesday. They flew to Guayaquil, reportedly to avoid Brazilian airspace, made a brief stop in Ecuador and continued to the Miami-Opa Locka executive airport. Flávio Bolsonaro was expected to hold a press conference in the United States at some point on Wednesday.
The aircraft had been parked at Puerto Iguazú airport since the early hours of the previous morning, when reports in Argentinian media said Flávio Bolsonaro intended to leave on it. Footage from a television channel in Argentina showed two vans crossing the border checkpoint and then being escorted by airport security officers to the airport.
Argentina’s migration authorities said Flávio Bolsonaro had entered the country by land late Tuesday night after disappearing for more than 24 hours following his loss in Sunday night’s election to incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The last time allies saw Flávio Bolsonaro was about 6 p.m. Monday. It remained unclear how or when he traveled to the border and where he was during that interval.
Shortly after the election result, Brazilian police asked the supreme court to order Flávio Bolsonaro’s passport retained over concerns that he could flee. The request cited an interview given the previous Friday by his brother, Eduardo Bolsonaro.
Some in the Brazilian government suspected that Flávio Bolsonaro’s allies had spent Tuesday privately telling the press he was already on his way to the United States in order to distract from his reported plan through Argentina. The federal police faced criticism for failing to prevent Flávio Bolsonaro from leaving the country.
Eduardo Bolsonaro, a former congressman in self-imposed exile in the United States, was lobbying the Trump administration against Lula. Speaking on a podcast in the United States, Eduardo said Flávio Bolsonaro should not concede if he lost the election and should go to the United States. Flávio Bolsonaro is the son of jailed former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro.
U.S. President Donald Trump said Tuesday night that he would approve the family’s move. “They’re fine people. The election was very strange, and I thought it was terrible,” Trump said after returning from a campaign event in Texas. “I didn’t take sides, you know. I know them both. I know Lula. I know Flavio a little bit. I know the father very well.” A senior U.S. State Department official separately said visas would be granted to Flávio Bolsonaro and his family.
President Lula called the flight “shameful” while speaking at an event celebrating his 81st birthday in Brasília. “This is what the Bolsonaro family are like. Brazil is their second homeland. Their first homeland is licking the boots of the US, as they’ve become accustomed to doing,” Lula said.
O Globo reported that a departure plan had been prepared for weeks as a contingency in case Flávio Bolsonaro lost. The newspaper identified Eduardo Bolsonaro as the main organizer and said he had held talks with U.S. officials about receiving the senator.