Flávio Bolsonaro Crosses Into Argentina After Passport Order Expires

Flávio Bolsonaro, the 45-year-old senator and former presidential candidate, entered Argentina with his wife and two daughters on Wednesday night. Argentina's migration authority confirmed the family crossed the border at 10:50 p.m. via the Tancredo Neves International Bridge.

The bridge connects Brazil to Argentina’s Misiones province. The authority stated that all three travelers held valid documents and faced no legal barriers to entry. Their arrival was recorded without incident.

At 11:30 p.m. local time, the group boarded a private charter plane operated by Baires Fly S.A. The flight plan filed with authorities showed the aircraft departed for Guayaquil, Ecuador.

Bolsonaro’s exit occurred after a deadline set by Brazil’s Supreme Court expired at noon Tuesday. The court had ordered him to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports. He was served with the order on Monday. Allies indicated late Tuesday that he also holds an Italian passport.

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who turned 81 on Tuesday, addressed supporters in Brasilia. He said he did not have exact details on Bolsonaro’s location but confirmed he had left the country. "I regret that he left Brazil, because he could have stayed here and proven that the accusations are not true," Lula said. He added that the departure was shameful.

The move follows a second-round victory for Lula, who was reelected by a margin of roughly 4.4 million votes. The Organization of American States and world leaders congratulated him on the result. U.S. President Donald Trump, speaking at Joint Base Andrews, said he would approve of Bolsonaro coming to the United States. The Trump administration granted U.S. visas to Bolsonaro and his family the day before the border crossing.

Bolsonaro received the passport surrender order outside the home of his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro. Jair Bolsonaro is serving a 27-year sentence under house arrest for attempting a coup after losing the 2022 election. He previously fled to Florida for three months following that defeat. Neither side has responded to requests for comment.