Brazilian senator Flavio Bolsonaro has left the country for the United States after losing the presidential election, Reuters has reported.
The news agency reported on Tuesday that Bolsonaro and his family had travelled to Florida. A senior US State Department official said visas would be issued to Bolsonaro and his relatives, according to sources cited by Reuters.
His departure comes after Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered him to surrender his passport within 24 hours as part of a money-laundering investigation. His passports were subsequently cancelled. Bolsonaro has denied wrongdoing.
Bolsonaro had said on Monday that he did not intend to leave Brazil and wanted to lead the opposition to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. His departure could further strain relations between Washington and Brasilia.
Lula won Sunday’s presidential election with about 51.8% of the vote, defeating Bolsonaro and securing another term in office. Bolsonaro’s party accepted Lula’s victory on Monday, although Flavio Bolsonaro has not formally conceded defeat and has said he would seek to overturn the result.
Flavio Bolsonaro is the son of former Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro, who travelled to the US after losing the 2022 election. Jair Bolsonaro was later sentenced to 27 years in prison in Brazil for plotting a coup.
