Brazil Cancels Flavio Bolsonaro's Passports as Reports Say He Has Left for the United States

Update: United States says it will issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family

Updated 23:10 UTC, Oct. 27, 2026. The United States will issue visas to Flavio Bolsonaro and his family and allow them to enter the United States, a senior State Department official said, in comments reported by Reuters, USA Today and The Wall Street Journal. "The State Department will issue visas to Flavio Bolsonaro and his family and allow them entry into the United States," the official said. Bolsonaro left Brazil with his wife and two daughters after refusing to surrender his passports, Reuters reported, and one source close to the family told Reuters he had landed in Florida, without saying where. United States officials did not confirm his whereabouts as of Tuesday evening, The Wall Street Journal reported.

President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, speaking at an event in Brasilia, said he regretted the departure. "I regret that he fled Brazil, because he could have stayed here and proved that the accusations are not true," Lula said, according to The Times. An ally, congressman Mauricio Marcon, told Brazilian media that Bolsonaro would "lead the opposition from abroad," The Times reported. Bolsonaro has not been charged, he denies wrongdoing, and he has yet to concede Sunday's election.

Brazil canceled Senator Flavio Bolsonaro's passports on Tuesday, and Reuters and CNN reported that he had left Brazil for the United States after losing Sunday's presidential runoff. An ally told Reuters that he had left, confirming a previous media report. Two sources confirmed to CNN independently that he had left Brazil and was headed to the United States, and a United States official told CNN that he was currently flying to Florida. CNN said it is unclear how he left Brazil.

Bolsonaro, his lawyer, the United States Embassy and the Federal Police have not confirmed the reports on the record. His brother Eduardo on Tuesday called rumors that Flavio had fled a lie.

Passports canceled after the deadline lapsed

Two sources from the federal police told Reuters that Brazil canceled Bolsonaro's passports on Tuesday after he failed to comply with a Supreme Court order to turn them in. The police were trying to locate the former presidential candidate.

Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes ordered him on Monday to turn in his passports within 24 hours, in a money laundering probe in which he denies wrongdoing. The sources said the deadline lapsed, which led to the cancellation.

Bolsonaro said Brazilian police had informed him of the order in person and told him he was banned from leaving Brazil. In a video posted to Instagram, the senator denied that he intended to flee.

A source close to Bolsonaro told CNN he had feared arrest in Brazil, where the country's highest court is investigating him for alleged corruption, money laundering and currency evasion. CNN reported that he denies all wrongdoing.

The route is not confirmed

Speculation about his movements mounted after Argentine news outlet Infobae reported that Bolsonaro had left Brazil via Argentina after losing Sunday's runoff. Argentina said it had no record of Bolsonaro entering its territory. Argentine authorities checked a private plane at Iguazu International Airport, on the border with Brazil, after reports linked it to the case, and found no flight plan listing the Bolsonaro family. A spokesperson for President Javier Milei told Reuters: "There is no asylum request."

A senior Brazilian Federal Police official said Bolsonaro has not exited the country via any regular migration point. Brazilians only need an ID card, rather than a passport, to enter neighboring Argentina.

Defeat and a family history

Bolsonaro was favored to win Sunday's presidential election but lost in a shock result to leftist incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. He has yet to officially concede defeat. On Sunday he said he would seek the annulment of the result over alleged voter irregularities, but his Liberal Party said on Monday that it acknowledged Lula's victory.

Shortly before the runoff, Eduardo Bolsonaro had suggested that Flavio ought to leave Brazil if his bid for the presidency failed. Eduardo, who lives in the United States, told podcaster Steven Crowder this month: "If my brother does not win, I'm in favour of him leaving the country," according to Reuters. His father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, also went to the United States after refusing to concede losing to Lula in 2022. He eventually returned to Brazil but was later given a 27 year sentence for plotting a coup.

CNN said it had reached out to Bolsonaro, his political party and the Brazilian Federal Police for comment. The United States Embassy in Brazil did not immediately respond to a request for comment, and Bolsonaro's lawyer declined to comment.