Bolsonaro departure involved decoy cars and private flight through Argentina: reports

The Bolsonaro departure from Brazil involved a convoy of cars, a crossing into Argentina and a private flight to Miami, according to reports published on October 29. The defeated presidential candidate reached Florida with his family on Wednesday, October 28.

Four dark vehicles left his home in Brasília on Monday evening and then took different directions, complicating efforts to establish his whereabouts. Reports that he was already in Florida circulated while he was still in Brazil.

Argentine authorities said Bolsonaro and his family crossed the Tancredo Neves International Bridge into Puerto Iguazú at 10.50 p.m. on Tuesday. They subsequently travelled to the airport, where a chartered aircraft was waiting.

Private jet travelled through Ecuador

The Gulfstream G400 departed Puerto Iguazú shortly after midnight on Wednesday and flew via Ecuador to Miami, according to the reported account. On arrival, officers used umbrellas to screen the family from cameras.

People familiar with the arrangements said allies of US President Donald Trump and Argentine President Javier Milei helped organise the journey. The account described involvement by Bolsonaro’s brother Eduardo and Trump adviser Jason Miller in securing the aircraft.

The Bolsonaro departure followed a Supreme Court order requiring the senator to surrender his passports and barring him from leaving Brazil. Investigations into him predated the presidential election, and he has denied wrongdoing.

Brazilian police said there was no official departure record and that they were investigating his failure to surrender the documents. They also said that this did not make him a fugitive.

People familiar with the US arrangements said the family entered under humanitarian parole permitting a one-year stay. Trump had approved their admission, according to those accounts, but subsequently said he would not get involved in Bolsonaro’s challenge to Lula da Silva’s election victory.

Lula won by more than 4.4 million votes, and more than 50 countries recognised his victory, according to reports. International observers said the margin left no doubt about the electoral data’s integrity.

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