WHERE IN THE WORLD WAS FLÁVIO BOLSONARO? Florida, it turns out! The Brazilian senator flew to Miami days after losing Sunday’s presidential run-off, ending a frantic guessing game over where he’d gone, the BBC reported.
Brazil cancelled his passport after he missed a 24-hour deadline to surrender it over an ongoing criminal investigation, and police were sent to check border posts. His own lawyers said they didn’t know where he was. He has denied any wrongdoing.
Argentine migration authorities said he, his wife and two daughters crossed into Argentina over land on Tuesday night. Flight tracking data verified by the BBC suggests they left Puerto Iguazú at 12:18 local time on Wednesday for Guayaquil, Ecuador, then flew on to Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport, where they were pictured getting off just before 09:30 local time while aides shielded him with umbrellas. The US State Department confirmed it would issue visas to him and his family.
Re-elected President Lula wasn’t impressed: “those who have nothing to hide have nothing to fear.”
Sound familiar? His father, Jair Bolsonaro, also left for Florida in December 2022 before Lula’s inauguration, and was still in the US when supporters stormed Brazil’s government buildings on 8 January. Jair was later convicted in a coup trial and sentenced to 27 years.
Flávio faces two investigations before Brazil’s Supreme Federal Court: one over the transfer of nearly $70m from Banco Master to Dark Horse, a biopic about his father, and one over alleged money laundering. He denies both, and loses his parliamentary immunity on 31 January when his Senate term ends. How long he plans to stay in the US isn’t clear.
Featured image: AI-generated editorial illustration by Bugle Blast.
Sources: BBC News
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