Flávio Bolsonaro Reportedly Flees Brazil for U.S. via Argentina

Flávio Bolsonaro, the Brazilian senator who lost Sunday's presidential runoff to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is reportedly heading to the United States via Argentina despite a Supreme Court order prohibiting him from leaving Brazil, according to reports citing people close to his family.

Flávio Bolsonaro plans to seek political asylum from the Trump administration after allegedly leaving Brazil with his family for the United States, Brazilian outlet Metrópoles reported.

A small group of allies in Brazil and the U.S. coordinated the operation and contacted the Trump administration to secure support, according to the report.

Brazilian authorities have identified no official record of his departure. The reported journey comes after Bolsonaro missed a deadline to surrender his passports, prompting the Federal Police to cancel them and notify the court of his non-compliance.

The senator has denied wrongdoing in the investigation underlying the restrictions. His whereabouts and whether he has actually left Brazil remain unconfirmed.

Reports Point to Argentina and the U.S.

Folha de S.Paulo columnist Mônica Bergamo reported on Tuesday that members of the Bolsonaro family's inner circle had been told Flávio had left Brazil for Argentina, intending to continue to the United States.

Metrópoles separately quoted people close to the family saying he was "on his way to the U.S." and that "the plane is in the air." UOL reported that a source close to both the Trump administration and the Bolsonaro family was aware of the alleged departure.

No official exit record has confirmed the reports. Brazil's Federal Police found no departure through a regular border crossing, while an AFP source in the force said "there is no formal record of Flavio Bolsonaro leaving the country."

Argentina's Infobae reported that the senator may have entered the country using his national identity card, which can be used for travel between Mercosur member states. The report said he was expected to board a flight from Puerto Iguazú to Miami.

Private Jet's Departure Remains Unclear

The reported itinerary involved a Gulfstream G400 operated by Baires Fly, with the registration LV-JQW. The aircraft landed in Puerto Iguazú at 11:45 p.m. on October 26, according to flight-tracking information cited in reports, but did not take off again.

A pilot told Folha that an airport worker had said Flávio's name appeared on the passenger list, although the field for his identification document was blank.

Argentine media offered differing explanations for the grounded flight. Clarín reported that a passenger had encountered a problem, while La Nación said one passenger did not show up. Misiones Online reported that Argentine aviation authorities had refused permission for takeoff.

Argentina has no record of Flávio's entry and no flight plan listing members of the Bolsonaro family, according to Reuters. A spokesman for President Javier Milei said: "There is no asylum request."

The U.S. State Department did not comment on the reports.

Supreme Court Order and Passport Cancellation

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered Flávio to surrender all his passports, including ordinary, diplomatic and foreign documents, within 24 hours. The order also barred him from leaving Brazil.

Federal Police notified the senator of the decision on October 26. He failed to meet the deadline, after which authorities canceled his passports and began reporting his non-compliance to Moraes, according to O Globo, Reuters and AFP.

The restrictions stem from an investigation into suspected money laundering and currency evasion involving Willer Tomaz, a lawyer and friend of the senator, and financing for Dark Horse, a film about his father, Jair Bolsonaro. Flávio denies wrongdoing.

No arrest warrant had been reported as of Tuesday.

In a video published on October 26, Flávio said he would challenge the restrictions. "I will hand over my passports and defend myself against this aberration... But no one will silence me," he said. He also pledged: "To resist the chaos, I will organize the opposition."

Family and Political Allies Dispute the Reports

The accounts of a possible departure conflict with statements from members of the senator's political circle.

Rogério Marinho, Flávio's campaign coordinator, said Tuesday morning that he had not left Brazil. His brother Eduardo Bolsonaro, who lives in the United States, dismissed the report in comments to UOL as a "lie."

The uncertainty follows the October 25 presidential runoff, in which Lula won a historic fourth term as Flávio rejected defeat, taking 51.79% of the vote to Flávio's 48.21%. The senator later dropped his bid to annul the election.

The reported travel attempt also comes amid tensions between the Brazilian judiciary and the Bolsonaro family. President Donald Trump described Brazil's election as "rigged" on October 26, while Jair Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup and remains under house arrest.

For now, reports citing family allies point to a possible route through Argentina to the United States, but no formal departure record shows that he has crossed the border.