Election claim conflicts with his party's acknowledgment
Bolsonaro's letter to Brazilians alleged that abhorrent electoral fraud had deprived him of victory. NPR reported that Lula won the October 25, 2026, runoff with just over 51% of valid votes, or about 64.2 million. Bolsonaro received more than 48%, nearly 59.8 million votes.
His Liberal Party recognized Lula's victory, but Bolsonaro refused to formally concede, according to NPR.
US President Donald Trump also questioned the result. Speaking to reporters on Monday, October 26, he said it "looked like another rigged election" without providing evidence of fraud, NPR reported.
Brazilian passports canceled, Italian passport used
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes had barred Bolsonaro from leaving Brazil and ordered him to hand over his personal and diplomatic passports within 24 hours. According to the Miami Herald, federal police notified him on the street on Monday, October 26, after a visit to his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, who remains under house arrest.
Brazilian authorities canceled both passports, but Bolsonaro entered Argentina using an Italian passport, La Nación reported, citing a flight declaration it obtained. The passenger manifest's first entry identifies him as "Nantes Bolsonaro Flavio" and lists his nationality as Italian. His wife and two daughters used Brazilian documents.
Bolsonaro faces two investigations before Brazil's Supreme Federal Court, according to the BBC. One examines whether there were irregularities in a transfer of nearly $70 million from private bank Banco Master to "Dark Horse," a film about his father. The other concerns alleged money laundering. He denies wrongdoing in both cases.
A waiting jet and a late-night border crossing
The aircraft that would carry the family had reached Argentina's Cataratas del Iguazú International Airport shortly before midnight on Monday after flying from Buenos Aires. The airport, in Puerto Iguazú in Argentina's far northeast, is just over 20 kilometers from the Brazilian border.
The Gulfstream G400, registration LV-JQW, was due to depart for Miami but remained on the ground because Bolsonaro had not arrived. Its three crew members waited at a hotel. The aircraft is operated by Argentine charter company Baires Fly S.A., according to aeroTELEGRAPH.
Although reports of Bolsonaro's departure began circulating on Monday, Argentina's migration authority placed the family's border crossing on Tuesday night. Bolsonaro, his wife Fernanda and their daughters Carolina and Luiza entered Argentina at about 10:50 p.m. Brazilian time on October 27, according to the authority's account cited by aeroTELEGRAPH.
They crossed the Tancredo Neves International Bridge at Puerto Iguazú, in the area where Brazil, Argentina and Paraguay meet.
An Ecuador stop before arrival in Florida
Flight-tracking data verified by the BBC showed that the family flew from Puerto Iguazú to Guayaquil, Ecuador, rather than directly to the United States. After a brief stop, the same private jet continued to Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport.
The aircraft landed at the airport north of Miami at about 9:23 a.m. local time on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, aeroTELEGRAPH reported. The US State Department confirmed that it would issue visas allowing Bolsonaro and his accompanying family members to enter the country, according to the BBC.
