Confusion over Flávio Bolsonaro’s whereabouts after Brazil cancels passports

Defeated Brazilian presidential candidate Flávio Bolsonaro’s location remains unclear after Brazil cancelled his passports and Argentine officials said he boarded a private flight to Ecuador.

Argentina’s migration authority announced that Bolsonaro, his wife and two daughters crossed the Brazil‑Argentina land border late on Tuesday night and then boarded a flight to Guayaquil, Ecuador. The authority did not confirm whether Ecuador is their final destination.

Earlier on Tuesday, a senior US official said the US State Department would issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family if they applied. When asked, former US President Donald Trump replied that he had heard Bolsonaro was in Argentina.

The confusion began after Brazil’s Supreme Court ordered Bolsonaro to surrender his passports amid a money‑laundering investigation. He missed the 24‑hour deadline, and the passports were cancelled around noon local time (15:00 GMT). Bolsonaro’s lawyers told BBC Brasil they were “completely in the dark” about his movements.

Police sources said Brazilian federal officials are checking border crossings to determine if Bolsonaro could have travelled to Argentina, while Argentine authorities initially reported no record of his entry.

Bolsonaro, who denied any wrongdoing, has also faced separate probes into alleged foreign funding of his electoral campaign and links to a lawyer accused of laundering more than $1 billion.

Source: BBC News. Photo: Drinu Cutajar / Pexels.