Argentina says Flávio Bolsonaro boarded flight bound for Ecuador after election defeat
Argentina’s migration authority says Bolsonaro and his family crossed its border and boarded a private flight bound for Ecuador. Earlier reports that he was headed to the United States have not established his arrival there.
Flávio Bolsonaro and his family crossed from Brazil into Argentina and boarded a private flight bound for Ecuador late on 27 October, Argentina’s migration authority said, according to theguardian.com. The account clarifies their movements after his defeat in Brazil’s presidential election; his onward destination remains unclear.
The Guardian reported that the authority identified the travellers as Bolsonaro, his wife and their two daughters. It said they entered Argentina at the Tancredo Neves International Bridge crossing in Misiones province, then boarded a Baires Fly S.A. flight bound for Guayaquil, Ecuador, at 11:30 p.m. The authority said they had valid travel documents and faced no legal impediment to entering Argentina.
How the confirmed boarding changes reports of a US destination
Earlier, the Brazilian website Metrópoles reported, citing people close to Bolsonaro’s family, that he was en route to the United States. The Guardian said that account did not identify where the aircraft had departed from. Infobae reported that an earlier flight expected to leave Puerto Iguazú for the United States had not taken off, according to the Guardian. Whether it was the aircraft later boarded for Ecuador remained unclear.
The United States will issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family and allow them entry, a senior State Department official told the Associated Press. The official spoke anonymously because of visa privacy laws and did not say whether they had left Brazil or were travelling to the United States at the time. The visa decision does not establish that the family reached the country.
Passport order followed Bolsonaro’s election defeat
Bolsonaro lost Sunday’s presidential election to incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and had not conceded, the Guardian reported. The Associated Press said he was served on Monday with an order to surrender his regular and diplomatic passports. It was unclear whether he complied when the deadline expired on Tuesday.
In a video posted Monday about the cancellation of his passport, Bolsonaro said, ‘I never thought about leaving the country,’ according to the Guardian. Lula later condemned Bolsonaro’s apparent departure. Bolsonaro’s campaign chief, senator Rogério Marinho, said he was surprised by the reports: he had discussed with Bolsonaro the previous day a role leading the opposition after the election.
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Sources and context
- Flávio Bolsonaro flees Brazil after presidential election loss, reports sayThe Guardian
- Brazil's Flávio Bolsonaro and his family will get U.S. visas after presidential election lossAssociated Press, republished by PBS NewsHour
AI-assisted article checked against the listed sources. NewsJaws did not conduct interviews or attend the reported events.