Brazil summons Argentine diplomat over Flávio Bolsonaro's flight to the United States

The summons

Brazil's Foreign Ministry called in Argentina's charge d'affaires, María Emilia Cortés, on Thursday, 29 October, to ask about the role of Buenos Aires in the departure of Flávio Bolsonaro, the defeated right-wing presidential candidate. Brazilian government sources told Reuters about the summons, and BBC News Brasil later confirmed it. Cortés met João Marcelo Galvão de Queiroz, a senior Itamaraty official, in a meeting Brazilian sources described as brief. The Brazilian diplomat asked for information about the Argentine government's part in the trip to the United States. Brazilian officials presented the step as a sign of discomfort, while El País reported that Brasília does not plan to escalate the dispute. Relations have been kept at charge d'affaires level since a crisis in late July, when Brazil summoned its ambassador to Argentina after Javier Milei insulted Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, according to El País.

The flight

Flávio Bolsonaro, 45, had been ordered by Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes to surrender his passports, and his Brazilian and diplomatic passports had been annulled in a money-laundering investigation, according to 20minutes. On Monday, 26 October, he posted on social media that he had no plans to leave the country, BBC News Brasil reported. The next day he crossed into Argentina by land and boarded a private jet at Puerto Iguazú about 40 minutes later, according to Argentine migration authorities cited by 20minutes, using an Italian passport in his name. The plane stopped in Guayaquil, Ecuador, and landed in Florida on Wednesday, 28 October, carrying him, his wife and their two daughters, and US authorities admitted all four. El País reported that the aircraft flew over Paraguay, Bolivia and Peru, avoiding Brazilian airspace.

Argentina's response

Pablo Quirno, Argentina's foreign minister, called the report false on social media and said no formal request for explanations had arrived. Milei shared that comment on his own social media, according to El Mundo, which cited Folha de S.Paulo. Diego Santilli, the chief of cabinet of ministers, said on Thursday that there was no impediment and no Interpol notice concerning the senator's movements. Milei had campaigned for Flávio Bolsonaro in São Paulo and has not commented directly on the flight, per 20minutes. Clarín wrote that at least three top-level Argentine bodies ran the operation, including the Security Ministry, the SIDE intelligence service and the Foreign Ministry, a claim the government has not confirmed in the reporting.

The election and the Banco Master case

Lula won Sunday's runoff, 25 October, with 51.8% of the vote, securing a fourth non-consecutive term. Flávio Bolsonaro fell short by more than 4 million votes, and the Liberal Party has acknowledged the result. He refuses to concede and alleges electoral malfeasance, pointing to a Supreme Court decision to extend voting hours on election day. Investigators are also probing a multimillion-dollar payment he received from Daniel Vorcaro, the former head of Banco Master, allegedly to finance a film about his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro. Flávio Bolsonaro denies any wrongdoing and calls the case politically motivated.

Washington's role

Democratic lawmakers asked whether the State Department, the US embassy in Brazil or other federal agencies facilitated Flávio Bolsonaro's travel or entry into the United States, according to a letter released on Friday, 30 October, by congresswoman Sydney Kamlager-Dove. Donald Trump called the Brazilian election a shame for the Brazilian people on Thursday, according to 20minutes. El Periódico reported that Trump had said, without presenting evidence, that the elections seemed fraudulent. An embassy report sent to US agencies described Lula's win as surprising but definitive and found no serious anomaly, according to El Periódico. El País reported that Lula has avoided commenting on the flight and that Brasília wants to keep a low profile and move past the episode.