How Donald Trump’s allies helped Flavio Bolsonaro flee Brazil

Flavio Bolsonaro arrived in Miami this week and declared himself the rightful leader of Brazil after losing Sunday’s presidential election.It was an eventful week for the senator, 45, who vanished altogether on Tuesday after missing a deadline to turn in his passports while under investigation in a money laundering probe.The eldest son of former far-right president Jair Bolsonaro had been expected to win the election but ended up losing in a shock result to leftist incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.The subsequent mystery over his whereabouts was resolved on Wednesday as he followed in the footsteps of his father, who moved to the US after refusing to concede losing to Lula in 2022.Flavio Bolsonaro disembarks from a plane after arriving in Miami, Florida, on Wednesday (Reuters)Donald Trump did not formally endorse Bolsonaro ahead of the election, but it was only owing to the support of Trump’s allies in Latin America that he was able to make it across the border safely.Arriving in Miami with his wife and two daughters, Bolsonaro thanked Argentine leader Javier Milei for helping him make the journey.He also thanked president Trump, who granted him and his family entry visas, for welcoming him.Bolsonaro on Monday said he would comply with the supreme court’s order to surrender his passports in the case in which he denies wrongdoing.A plane carrying Flavio and his family arrives in Miami on Wednesday (Getty)But reports emerged in the early hours of Tuesday that he had already fled the country for Argentina and planned to continue to the US aboard a private jet waiting at Puerto Iguazu airport.Argentina insisted it had no record of him entering its territory and Bolsonaro’s aides either declined to say where he was or said they did not know.Argentine authorities checked the aircraft and its crew, finding no flight plan listing the family.But by Tuesday evening, a senior US state department official said they would be allowed to enter the country and would receive visas.Sure enough, a Baires Fly flight departed from Puerto Iguazu airport in the early hours of Wednesday morning.Lula, pictured on Sunday, has accused Washington of colluding with the Bolsonaros to put them back in power (AP)Argentina’s migration authority then confirmed the family had entered the country on Tuesday and taken a private Baires Fly flight to Guayaquil, Ecuador.Flight tracking data showed the plane landing in Guayaquil at 5:46am on Wednesday morning.Ecuador, led by right-wing strongman Daniel Noboa, has found a natural ally in the United States under the Trump administration.Only last month, US secretary of state Marco Rubio commended Ecuador as being Washington’s most “aggressive” partner in tackling drug trafficking and criminal groups in the region.Noboa, who is driving his own security crackdown on gangs within Ecuador, has lent support to Trump’s stance on wider counternarcotics operations and migration issues.US president Donald Trump (R) meets with then president of Brazil Jair Bolsonaro at the White House in 2019 (Getty)It was from Guayaquil that Bolsonaro’s plane flew on to Miami's Opa-locka Executive Airport, according to flight-tracking firm FlightAware.Argentina, too, benefitted from Washington’s help when Trump late last year offered president Milei a $20bn lifeline to help its flailing economy.Trump also endorsed the eccentric right-wing populist for re-election at the time.Much of Latin America is experiencing a shift to the right, with wider focus on security issues and gangs, in line with the Trump administration’s objectives in the region.Lula’s relection ensures a significant outlier on the left, alongside Mexico’s Claudia Sheinbaum and Uruguay’s Yamandú Orsi.Marco Rubio is welcomed by Ecuador's President Daniel Noboa in Quito last month (AFP/Getty)Policy analyst Michael Shifter told El Pais the Bolsonaro case was more evidence of an emerging bloc of right-leaning countries across Latin America willing to disregard international treaties to avoid angering Washington.“It’s a network behaving identically to Trump’s, where international law has no relevance,” he said.“The U.S. administration feels no respect for it and the Bolsonaro case is further proof. This creates a contagion effect among his regional allies, who choose to ignore legality.”Flavio was received in the United States by his brother, former lawmaker Eduardo Bolsonaro, who is now based in the United States and unlikely to return to Brazil.Flavio’s father, Jair, eventually returned to Brazil but was given a 27-year prison sentence, which he is still serving, for plotting a coup after supporters stormed government buildings.Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (L) and Mexico's President Claudia Sheinbaum in April 2025 (AFP/Getty)Trump previously offered support to the elder Bolsonaro and alleged he was the victim of judicial persecution in Brazil.He stopped short of outright endorsing Flavio in the 2026 election, but did claim the Brazilian vote “looked like another rigged election”, and said he would approve of him coming to the US.“Well, I would approve. I think they're fine people. The election was very strange, and I thought it was terrible. It's gotten bad reviews. You look at what happened to their market”, Trump said.Bolsonaro’s departure threatens to deepen a rift between Brazil and the United States, the two most populous nations in the Americas.Lula has accused Washington of colluding with the Bolsonaros to put them back in power.