SAO PAULO, Oct 29 — Flavio Bolsonaro's sudden departure from Brazil — less than three days after his election defeat — began on Sunday with his refusal to concede in the runoff and culminated in his arrival in Miami via Argentina and Ecuador aboard a private jet yesterday.
The right-wing lawmaker left after receiving a Supreme Court order to surrender his passports in connection with a money-laundering investigation, in which he denies wrongdoing.
Below is a timeline of the events. All times are Brasilia time (GMT-3), which is 11 hours behind Malaysia.
Sunday — Election defeat and challenge
Bolsonaro loses Brazil's presidential runoff election to leftist incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, despite entering the race as the favourite after winning the first-round vote.
Bolsonaro refuses to concede defeat and says he will seek to annul the election, arguing that a Supreme Court decision extending voting hours by two hours affected the outcome.
World leaders quickly recognise Lula's victory, but US President Donald Trump and Argentine President Javier Milei initially remain silent.
Monday — Passport order
Trump alleges, without presenting evidence, that the Brazilian election "looked like another rigged election", but Bolsonaro's Liberal Party acknowledges the runoff result.
Bolsonaro posts a video on social media saying federal police have requested that he surrender his passports following an order from Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes.
The senator says he will comply with the order and rejects speculation that he plans to flee Brazil after the election.
Brazilian presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro of the Liberal Party (PL) walks alongside his wife, Fernanda Bolsonaro, before boarding a flight at Brasilia International Airport in Brasilia, Brazil, on October 23, 2026. — Picture by REUTERS
Tuesday — Reports of departure
1 am: Argentine news site Infobae reports that Bolsonaro has left Brazil for Argentina and plans to continue to the US aboard a private jet waiting at Puerto Iguazu airport near the border.
11.15 am: Argentine immigration authorities say they have no record of Bolsonaro entering the country, adding that inspectors checked the aircraft and its crew and found no flight plan listing Bolsonaro or his family.
11.30 am: A spokesperson for Milei says Argentina has taken note of Lula's victory but does not plan to congratulate him, and declines to comment on whether Argentina would consider an asylum request from Bolsonaro.
12 pm: Bolsonaro misses the deadline to surrender his passports. Although his whereabouts remain unknown, federal police sources tell Reuters the documents have been cancelled.
2.15 pm: CNN Brasil reports, citing Bolsonaro's allies, that the senator has travelled to the US.
2.20 pm: An ally of Bolsonaro tells Reuters he has already left Brazil and is heading to the US.
2.30 pm: A US official tells Reuters that Bolsonaro is aboard a plane bound for the US.
6.05 pm: A senior US State Department official says Bolsonaro and his family will be allowed to enter the country and will receive visas.
6.25 pm: Lula describes Bolsonaro's departure from Brazil following his election defeat as "shameful".
Wednesday — Arrival in the United States
12.22 am: Flight-tracking data shows a Baires Fly Gulfstream G400, registration LV-JQW, departing Puerto Iguazu.
1.30 am: Trump says he would have approved Bolsonaro's arrival in the US and describes Brazil's election as "very strange".
2 am: Argentina's migration authority says Bolsonaro and his family entered the province of Misiones late on October 27 using valid travel documents. It adds that they crossed the Tancredo Neves Bridge in Puerto Iguazu before boarding a private Baires Fly flight bound for Guayaquil, Ecuador.
5.46 am: The aircraft arrives in Guayaquil, according to flight-tracking data.
6.22 am: The plane departs Guayaquil for Miami's Opa-locka Executive Airport, according to flight-tracking firm FlightAware.
10.31 am: The aircraft arrives in Miami. Reuters TV footage shows Bolsonaro disembarking with his wife and two daughters.
