USAupdated 1h ago3 min read
Archive photo · 26 May 2026U.S. State Department Issues Visas For Flávio Bolsonaro After Brazil Election Loss
13 Western Mainstream6 Other3 Asian5 Other source typesPhoto: Unknown photographer Unknown photographer / US federal government, Public domain · Cropped for layout
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U.S. State Department will issue visas to Flávio Bolsonaro and his family. Bolsonaro left Brazil after defeat and stopped in Argentina and Ecuador en route.
27 outlets told this the same way.
Visas After Passport Order
The U.S. State Department said it would issue visas to Flávio Bolsonaro and his family after the Brazilian senator left Brazil following his defeat to Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
A senior State Department official told NBC News that “the State Department will issue visas to Flávio Bolsonaro and his family and allow them entry into the United States.”
AP reported that Flávio Bolsonaro called for Brazil’s presidential election results to be annulled after his defeat, alleging that the rules had been changed during voting, and AP said Lula won 51.8% of the vote.
AP also said a sealed Supreme Court order required Bolsonaro to surrender his passport, and AP reported that a deadline for him to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports expired at noon Tuesday.
AP added that Lula turned 81 on Tuesday and celebrated with a few dozen supporters outside the presidential residence in Brasilia, while Bolsonaro’s campaign manager Rogério Marinho said, “We had no news from Flávio or his lawyers about what happened.”
Route Through Argentina to Ecuador
Argentina’s National Directorate of Migration said Flávio Bolsonaro and his family were en route to Ecuador after leaving Brazil and stopping off in Argentina, and the directorate said Bolsonaro’s wife and two daughters arrived in Argentina Tuesday night through the Tancredo Neves International Bridge border crossing. CBS News reported that FlightRadar24 showed a plane fitting the description of Bolsonaro’s landed in Guayaquil at about 4 a.m. local time before taking off minutes later for Miami’s Opa Locka executive airport. The Argentine migration directorate said Bolsonaro then boarded a private plane for a flight to Guayaquil, Ecuador, and CBS News said it was not clear whether Bolsonaro and his family were on board.
Lula told supporters in Brasilia that it was “shameful” that Bolsonaro had fled Brazil, and CBS News said Lula added, “A person who sneaks out of their country must have something to hide.” Trump told reporters early Wednesday that he would approve of Bolsonaro coming to the U.S., and Trump said, “It would be OK with me.”
Rift and Political Fallout
The U.S. visa decision and Bolsonaro’s departure were framed as a potential widening rift between Brazil and the United States, and L’Express said Lula accused Washington of colluding with the Bolsonaro family to return to power.
L’Express quoted Trump saying, “Well, I would be supportive. I think they’re good people,” while Trump also said, “I didn’t take sides, you know. I know Lula. I know Flavio a little bit.”
L’Express said Bolsonaro left Brazil after refusing to comply with a Supreme Court decision ordering him to hand over his passports, and it said the decision was part of a money-laundering investigation in which he denies any involvement.
In Brasilia, Lula called Bolsonaro’s departure “shameful,” and Reuters was cited in L’Express for Lula’s line that “Anyone who leaves his country in secret must have something to hide.”
NBC News said Bolsonaro’s departure threatened to deepen a rift between the two most populous nations in the Americas, and NBC News also reported that Lula accused Washington of colluding with the Bolsonaros to put them back in power.
