How did Bolsonaro flee Brazil? Questions mount over Trump and Milei’s involvement

BRASÍLIA, Oct 31 — US President Donald Trump and Argentina’s Javier Milei faced mounting pressure Friday to explain the role their countries played in helping Flavio Bolsonaro flee Brazil after he had his passports cancelled.

The 45-year-old Brazilian senator bolted his country two days after being defeated by incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva in a presidential election on Sunday.

He had been ordered to surrender all his passports due to an ongoing investigation into him on suspicion of money-laundering.

However, he left the country in a cloak-and-dagger operation via Argentina and Ecuador, and landed in Florida on Wednesday, where he declared himself the rightful “leader” of Brazil.

Bolsonaro refused to concede defeat after his loss, which came as a shock after he won a first-round election and had been seen as the narrow favourite.

According to the Argentine migration authority, Bolsonaro boarded a private plane on Tuesday evening in northeastern Puerto Iguazu, 40 minutes after entering Argentina by land.

While Bolsonaro’s Brazilian passport and diplomatic passport had been cancelled, he also holds an Italian passport, which he used to board a private jet in Argentina, according to a flight document seen by AFP.

A Brazilian diplomatic source, speaking on condition of anonymity, told AFP that Argentina’s diplomatic representative had been summoned for a “routine meeting” to “provide explanations” on Thursday.

Brasilia recalled its ambassador and downgraded diplomatic ties with Buenos Aires in August after repeated insults from Milei, who called Lula “a thief” and “corrupt.”

Argentina’s foreign minister on Friday denied that Brazil had asked Buenos Aires to explain its role in Bolsonaro’s flight.

“FALSE. There was no request for information,” Pablo Quirno wrote on X.

Outliers in not accepting result

Bolsonaro thanked Milei and Trump in his first statement after fleeing the country.

Milei has not recognised Lula’s election victory and Trump said the poll was a “disgrace” and “very strange.”

However, Lula’s victory has been recognised by global leaders from across the political spectrum, Brazil’s electoral court, Bolsonaro’s own party – which holds a majority in Congress – and other right-wing allies.

In the United States, Democrat lawmakers wrote a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio to request “an immediate accounting” of his department’s role in helping Bolsonaro leave Brazil.

Luis Grande, head of the Baires Fly airline which carried Bolsonaro, told AFP on Thursday he had been hired by a broker “who lives in the United States.”

Some US media, including the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, have reported that the plane was chartered by Jason Miller, an adviser to Trump.

The White House has not commented on the matter.

Bolsonaro, who is the son of former far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro, has found himself isolated and the object of ridicule at home, after his departure and proclamation that he will lead the opposition from abroad.

Speculation has switched almost immediately to who would lead the right with Flavio out of the country, and the future of the Bolsonaro movement.

Jair Bolsonaro, 71, is serving a 27-year sentence under house arrest for plotting a coup against Lula after his 2022 election loss.

His wife, Michelle Bolsonaro, who was just elected senator, released a statement on Instagram on Friday referring to Jair Bolsonaro as “our leader.”

“We are living through difficult times. We need to reflect and only then act,” she wrote.

“My husband stresses that this is a time for unity, not for looking for people to blame,” she said. — AFP

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巴西利亚，10 月 31 日——美国总统唐纳德·特朗普和阿根廷总统哈维尔·米莱周五面临越来越大的压力，要求他们解释两国在弗拉维奥·博尔索纳罗护照被注销后帮助他逃离巴西的过程中所扮演的角色。

这位45岁的巴西参议员在周日的总统选举中败给现任总统路易斯·伊纳西奥·卢拉·达席尔瓦两天后逃离了他的国家。

由于他涉嫌洗钱，目前正在接受调查，因此他被勒令交出所有护照。

然而，他通过阿根廷和厄瓜多尔秘密离开巴西，并于周三抵达佛罗里达州，在那里他宣布自己是巴西合法的“领导人”。

博索纳罗在败选后拒绝承认失败，这令人震惊，因为他在第一轮选举中获胜，并且一直被视为略占优势的热门人选。

据阿根廷移民局称，博索纳罗于周二晚上在东北部的伊瓜苏港登上了一架私人飞机，此前他仅用了 40 分钟就通过陆路进入阿根廷。

据法新社看到的一份飞行文件显示，虽然博索纳罗的巴西护照和外交护照已被注销，但他仍然持有意大利护照，并曾用该护照在阿根廷登上私人飞机。

一位不愿透露姓名的巴西外交消息人士告诉法新社，阿根廷外交代表周四被召集参加“例行会议”，以“提供解释”。

在米莱伊多次侮辱巴西利亚，称卢拉为“小偷”和“腐败分子”之后，巴西利亚于8月召回了大使，并降低了与布宜诺斯艾利斯的外交关系级别。

阿根廷外交部长周五否认巴西曾要求布宜诺斯艾利斯解释其在博索纳罗逃亡事件中所扮演的角色。

“错误。并没有提出信息请求，”巴勃罗·基尔诺在 X 上写道。

不接受结果的异常值

博索纳罗在逃离该国后发表的第一份声明中感谢了米莱和特朗普。

米莱尚未承认卢拉的选举胜利，特朗普称此次选举“令人蒙羞”且“非常奇怪”。

然而，卢拉的胜利得到了来自全球各政治派别的领导人、巴西选举法院、博索纳罗所在的政党（该党在国会中占据多数席位）以及其他右翼盟友的承认。

在美国，民主党议员致信国务卿马可·卢比奥，要求其“立即说明”国务院在帮助博索纳罗离开巴西一事中所扮演的角色。

博索纳罗乘坐的 Baires Fly 航空公司的负责人路易斯·格兰德周四告诉法新社，他受雇于一位“居住在美国的”经纪人。

包括《纽约时报》和《华尔街日报》在内的一些美国媒体报道称，这架飞机是由特朗普的顾问杰森·米勒包租的。

白宫尚未对此事发表评论。

博尔索纳罗是前极右翼领导人雅伊尔·博尔索纳罗的儿子，他离开祖国并宣布将在国外领导反对派后，发现自己在国内孤立无援，成为人们嘲笑的对象。

猜测几乎立刻转向了弗拉维奥出国后谁将领导右翼，以及博尔索纳罗运动的未来。

现年 71 岁的雅伊尔·博尔索纳罗因在 2022 年大选失败后策划政变推翻卢拉而被判处 27 年软禁。

他的妻子米歇尔·博尔索纳罗刚刚当选参议员，周五在 Instagram 上发表声明，称雅伊尔·博尔索纳罗为“我们的领导人”。

“我们正经历着艰难的时期。我们需要反思，然后才能采取行动，”她写道。

“我丈夫强调，现在是团结一致的时候，而不是寻找替罪羊的时候，”她说。——法新社

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