Flavio Bolsonaro reportedly leaves Brazil for the US after election defeat

Flavio Bolsonaro, a senator who lost the second round of Brazil's presidential election, left the country on Tuesday and headed to the United States, according to US media. He is the son of former president Jair Bolsonaro and is under investigation in Brazil, which has drawn attention to the move.

The New York Times, CNN and other outlets reported the departure, citing unnamed US officials. The US State Department said on Tuesday it would issue visas to Flavio Bolsonaro and his family and "allow them to come to the US", but did not confirm whether they were actually travelling there.

Restrictions and investigation

The politician is barred from leaving Brazil and his passports have been annulled, but he has not surrendered them to the authorities. Brazilian police are investigating him for corruption linked to the financing of the biographical film "Dark Horse", which is dedicated to his father. His term as senator ends in January, and he will then lose his parliamentary immunity.

Election result

The 45-year-old Bolsonaro lost Sunday's presidential runoff to incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. He has not accepted the result and has promised to challenge it in court, while his party and allies have accepted it.

His father's case

Jair Bolsonaro, nicknamed the "Tropical Trump", was president of Brazil from 2019 to 2023. Last September the Supreme Court sentenced him to 27 years and three months in prison, finding him guilty of conspiring to stay in power despite losing the 2022 election, which Lula da Silva won. The 71-year-old former president is serving the sentence under house arrest because of health problems. He, too, did not accept the 2022 result, as US President Donald Trump did not accept his own defeat in the 2020 US election.