Bolsonaro’s son and family flee to Miami after refusing to concede

Defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro and his family landed in Miami on Wednesday after fleeing Brazil.

The stunning move came after 48 hours in which Bolsonaro refused to concede to Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and then threatened to attempt to annul the election result.

Bolsonaro’s father, Jair Bolsonaro, also fled to Florida after losing the 2022 presidential election to Lula before returning to Brazil three months later.

On Monday, the U.S. said that it would grant visas to Flávio Bolsonaro and his family. Bolsonaro, a Trump ally, visited the White House in May.

Bolsonaro first fled from Brazil to Argentina and then Ecuador alongside his wife and two daughters, Argentina's migration authority said Wednesday — a day after the 45-year-old senator and his family were granted United States visas by the Trump administration.

Bolsonaro is under investigation by Brazil’s Supreme Court for alleged corruption, money laundering and tax evasion in two cases.

The court had ordered Bolsonaro to hand over his regular and diplomatic passports by noon Tuesday — two days after he lost the vote to Lula. It remained unclear whether he had complied, but allies said late Tuesday he also has an Italian passport.

Paulo Figueiredo, a close Bolsonaro ally who lives in the U.S., said in a short statement he cannot confirm information from foreign authorities, but added “Flávio Bolsonaro is well, in security and resting with his family.”

Representatives of Brazil's government did not immediately respond to requests for comment from The Associated Press.

U.S. President Donald Trump said early Wednesday that he would approve of Bolsonaro coming to the U.S., calling him and his family “fine people.”