Flávio Bolsonaro, the defeated Brazilian presidential candidate, stepped off a private jet in Miami just two days after a Brazilian Supreme Court justice ordered him to hand over his passports and banned him from leaving the country.
Quick Take
- Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered Bolsonaro to surrender his passports within 24 hours and barred him from leaving Brazil.
- The order is tied to a money-laundering investigation reportedly worth about $1 billion involving lawyer Willer Tomaz.
- Brazilian police canceled Bolsonaro’s passports after he missed the deadline, yet he still landed in Miami.
- The U.S. State Department says it will issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family, letting them enter the country.
Court Order Came One Day After Election Loss
Bolsonaro lost Brazil’s presidential runoff to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on a Sunday. One day later, Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered him to turn over his ordinary, diplomatic, and foreign passports within 24 hours. The same order barred him from leaving Brazil. Bolsonaro said in a video that he was served with the order and could not travel.
The timing drew attention because it followed so closely behind his defeat at the polls. Justice de Moraes also barred Bolsonaro from contacting his lawyer, Willer Tomaz, as part of the restrictions tied to the ongoing investigation.
Money Laundering Probe Sits Behind the Travel Ban
The passport order connects to a Supreme Court investigation into alleged money laundering. Reports describe a scheme worth roughly $1 billion involving Tomaz. Bolsonaro has denied any wrongdoing in the matter. Courts often use travel bans like this to stop a person from leaving before an investigation finishes, not as proof of guilt.
Passports Canceled After Deadline Passed
Bolsonaro did not surrender his passports within the 24-hour window. After the deadline passed, Brazil’s Federal Police canceled his ordinary and diplomatic passports on the justice’s orders. Brazilian outlet Folha reported the cancellation came directly from the Supreme Court. The move effectively stripped him of valid Brazilian travel documents going forward.
Despite the canceled documents, Bolsonaro and his family still reached Miami. Reporting says he arrived Wednesday morning, shortly after both the court’s order and a separate U.S. decision on his entry became public. His exact route out of Brazil has not been laid out in an official travel record.
An Italian Passport May Explain the Route
An unnamed Brazilian diplomat told The Associated Press that Bolsonaro used an Italian passport to enter Argentina first. Because he was traveling as an Italian national, no Brazilian exit record was required at the checkpoint. Other reporting says Bolsonaro holds Italian nationality, though the State Department has not clarified which passport he used to enter the United States.
Washington Grants Visas Despite the Brazilian Order
A senior State Department official said the United States would issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family and allow them entry. The decision means Washington is welcoming a man barred from leaving his own country by his nation’s highest court. That contrast has turned a domestic Brazilian legal matter into a point of friction between the two governments.
By MAURICIO SAVARESE SAO PAULO (AP) — Defeated presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro has left Brazil for the United States following a stunning loss to incumbent President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in Sunday’s election, according… https://t.co/GP7gVCZss9
— Capital Gazette (@capgaznews) October 27, 2026
The episode highlights a tension many Americans recognize in their own politics: when courts, police, and foreign governments all take different actions on the same case, the public is left piecing together what happened from scattered reports rather than one clear record. Brazil’s Federal Police have not released a public document confirming exactly how Bolsonaro left the country.
Sources:
bbc.com, newser.com, gazettengr.com, latintimes.com, thecanadianpressnews.ca, miamiherald.com, www1.folha.uol.com.br
