Defiant Bolsonaro Flees to Miami, Vows Opposition From Exile
Explaining his abrupt exit, Bolsonaro said the politicization of Brazil’s justice system had forced him to move his family to the United States.
“There is no arrest warrant against me because I have committed no crime. What is taking place is a politically motivated witch hunt, intended to use me as a hostage or an object of blackmail to shield corrupt Supreme Court justices from impeachment,” he said.
The 45-year-old senator touched down near Miami on Wednesday morning aboard a private jet, after a clandestine land crossing into Argentina. He arrived fewer than 72 hours after narrowly losing Sunday’s presidential runoff to Lula, 51.76% to 48.24%.
Speaking to supporters from Florida, the Liberal Party (PL) candidate flatly rejected the results certified by Brazil’s Superior Electoral Court (TSE).
“On Sunday night, I watched in horror as electoral fraud unfolded right before my eyes,” he said.
He claimed widespread manipulation of the vote count but produced no physical evidence or concrete documentation to back it up.
His exit capped a tense showdown in Brasília. On Monday, Federal Supreme Court (STF) Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered him to surrender his travel documents within 24 hours, as part of an investigation into money laundering and financial fraud tied to digital betting platforms.
Bolsonaro defied the order, which prompted the Federal Police to invalidate his Brazilian passports. He instead entered Argentina’s Misiones province on his national identity card and boarded a charter flight to Miami.
“I did not flee Brazil. I left for Brazil’s sake. I left a state of exception so that I could be the leader my people deserve,” he said, urging foreign governments not to recognize the incoming administration.
“To the international community, I ask not to normalize what is happening in Brazil.”
He publicly thanked US President Donald Trump and “the wonderful American people” for taking him in, after the US State Department confirmed it would grant entry visas to the senator and his immediate family.
By choosing to lead the opposition from American soil, Bolsonaro echoes the post-election stay in Florida of his father, Jair Bolsonaro, in 2022. The move threatens to deepen institutional strain between Brasília and Washington as Lula prepares to begin a historic fourth term on Jan. 5, 2027.
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