Flavio Bolsonaro reportedly left Brazil as police annul his passports, campaign denies

Reports of a flight to the United States

Flavio Bolsonaro, a senator who lost the presidential runoff to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, is reported to have left Brazil for the United States. The Brazilian outlet Metropoles said people close to the family confirmed the departure, and that his last message to his campaign coordinator, Rogério Marinho, was sent at 8:00 in the morning. Folha de S.Paulo, citing allies, said the plane was expected to land within a few hours, with Florida as the final destination. Those same sources said a lawyer close to the Bolsonaro family had organised the plan. Marinho first denied the departure to Metropoles, and other sources said the senator was at home. The accounts contradict each other, and none of the articles confirms where he is.

Passports annulled and criminal probes

Supreme Court justice Alexandre de Moraes reportedly ordered the withdrawal of Bolsonaro's Brazilian and Italian passports, since he also holds Italian citizenship. Allies say the decision to leave was taken on 26 October, after that order. The passports were annulled after the senator failed to hand them over within a 24-hour deadline set by the court. Bolsonaro is under investigation in two criminal proceedings for money laundering and other offences, linked to the Banco Master case and an inquiry into funds of Brazil's National Social Security Institute (INSS). His brother Eduardo has lived in the United States since February 2025. An arrest warrant issued by de Moraes while Eduardo was still a deputy is still outstanding against him, and he was finally convicted to 4 years and 2 months for coercion, linked to efforts to push US sanctions against Brazilian authorities.

The disputed Argentine airport

Infobae reported that Bolsonaro had planned to cross into Argentina and board a private jet. Tn, citing a source, said he entered Argentina on foot between 21:00 and 22:00 on Monday, 26 October, without using a border post, and that the source did not know where he was. A Gulfstream G400 operated by Baires Fly landed at Puerto Iguazú at 23:45 on 26 October and was still parked there. Tn said its flight plan listed four passengers and that Bolsonaro's name appeared in checks, a detail Argentine authorities rejected. Infobae said takeoff was planned for 2:00 local time, but airport security police told Tgcom24 the plane did not leave because one of the four expected passengers never showed up. The Argentine presidency said:

“Because of the media uproar over a private plane at Iguazú international airport, the authorities carried out the required checks on the aircraft and its crew.”

The presidency added that the company's paperwork was in order and that no flight plan naming members of the Bolsonaro family had been filed.

Denials and open questions

Argentina's government under Javier Milei denies that Bolsonaro entered the country. Rai reported that no migration record or asylum request exists for him in Argentina. Brazil's Federal Police are checking border crossings and flight records to establish whether the senator left the country overnight. Tgcom24, citing O Globo, reported that Bolsonaro had never handed his passports to the authorities, which is why the police moved to annul them. Marinho continues to deny that Bolsonaro left and says he is at his residence, and that he has no intention of avoiding the corruption and money laundering investigations he is involved in. Whether the senator is in Brazil, Argentina or the United States remains unconfirmed in the articles.