RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil — The United States says it will issue visas to Flávio Bolsonaro and his family, amid multiple reports that the defeated Brazilian presidential candidate has left the country following Sunday's election. His whereabouts have not been independently confirmed.
Bolsonaro, a conservative politician and ally of President Donald Trump, lost Sunday's presidential election to incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva by more than four million votes, just three weeks after winning the first round. While Bolsonaro's Liberal Party has since recognized Lula's victory, Bolsonaro has refused to concede defeat.
On Tuesday a senior U.S. administration official said that the State Department would issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family, allowing them to enter the country.
The visa announcement comes as Bolsonaro faces multiple investigations in Brazil, including allegations of money laundering and tax evasion, which he denies. On Monday Brazil's Supreme Court ordered him to surrender his passports within 24 hours and barred him from leaving the country.
The order followed comments by Bolsonaro's brother Eduardo, who lives in self-imposed exile in Florida, suggesting Flávio should leave Brazil if he lost the election.
In a video released that day, Bolsonaro said federal police officers had stopped him outside the home of his father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, and ordered him to surrender his passports. The former far-right leader is under house arrest after being sentenced to 27 years in prison for plotting a coup following his own defeat by Lula in the 2022 presidential election.
"I never thought about leaving the country," Flávio Bolsonaro said in the video. "I will hand over my passports and defend myself against this aberration." He described the order as an attempt to intimidate him.
On Tuesday, Brazilian media reported that Bolsonaro had left for the United States. His campaign manager, his lawyer and other political allies had earlier said they did not know his whereabouts.
Lula won the election with just over 51% of the valid votes, or approximately 64.2 million, compared with more than 48%, or nearly 59.8 million, for Bolsonaro.
President Trump has repeatedly cast doubt on Lula's victory, suggesting on Monday that the election was "rigged", without offering any evidence. He returned to the subject at a campaign rally in Texas on Tuesday night, as he accused Democrats of election fraud.
"Brazil is also doing a good job of it, aren't they? Did you see that? I didn't take sides, but it didn't look very good," he said.
Lula criticised Bolsonaro's reported departure during celebrations for his 81st birthday in Brasília on Tuesday.
"Those who have nothing to hide have nothing to fear," Lula told supporters.
"He could have stayed and proven that the accusations [against him] are not true," Lula said, adding that he regretted Bolsonaro's departure.
He also took aim at the Bolsonaro family's close ties to the Trump administration. "Brazil is their second home; their first home is the United States," he said.
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