Bolsonaro ally denies knowledge of senator’s plan to flee Brazil
Flavio Bolsonaro’s former campaign manager, Rogerio Marinho, says the senator did not inform him that he planned to flee the country. Reports suggest Bolsonaro secretly left Brazil for Florida after losing Sunday’s presidential election and amid a police investigation into money-laundering.
Brazilian politician Flavio Bolsonaro left his country on Tuesday for the United States, US media reported, after he refused to accept defeat in the presidential runoff election held over the weekend. Bolsonaro, who faces multiple legal challenges, had his passports cancelled but had not surrendered the documents as of Tuesday afternoon.
Authorities demanded he hand over his passport after loss to Lula but far-right senator remains unaccounted for The far-right senator Flávio Bolsonaro has not been seen since Monday and missed a Tuesday-morning deadline to hand his passport to the federal police, fuelling rumours that he may have fled Brazil after losing Sunday’s presidential election. A supreme court justice cancelled Bolsonaro’s passport minutes after the result in a ruling related to a criminal case against the senator.
Defeated right-wing presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro left Brazil and is traveling to the United States despite a court order banning him from exiting the country, US media reported Tuesday. US President Donald Trump, a close ally of Jair Bolsonaro, on Monday said Brazil’s elections were “rigged” following the defeat of Bolsonaro junior.
News comes one day after Brazil's Supreme Court ordered Bolsonaro to hand over his passports in money-laundering probe.
President Lula da Silva criticised Flavio Bolsonaro for leaving Brazil amid reports he was headed to the US.
The senator lost a presidential election earlier this week to incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and was later ordered to hand in his passport to authorities in relation to a money laundering probe.