Brazilian authorities cancelled Senator Flavio Bolsonaro’s passports on Tuesday after he failed to comply with a Supreme Court order to surrender them, according to two federal police sources. The police are currently attempting to locate the senator.
Argentina reported no record of Bolsonaro entering its territory, while the right-wing senator’s aides either declined to disclose his location or stated they did not know.
Bolsonaro had been a leading contender in Sunday’s presidential election but ultimately lost in a shocking result to leftist incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. On Monday, he was given 24 hours to hand over his passports as part of a money-laundering investigation—allegations he denies—but that deadline has now passed, leading to the cancellation of his documents, the sources said.
The uncertainty surrounding his whereabouts has sparked concerns that he may follow the path of his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro, who traveled to the United States after refusing to concede his 2022 election loss to Lula. The elder Bolsonaro eventually returned to Brazil and later faced legal consequences related to coup allegations. Flavio Bolsonaro has not officially conceded defeat, stating on Sunday that he would seek to annul the results over alleged voting irregularities, though his Liberal Party acknowledged Lula’s victory on Monday.
The Argentine government said it had no record of Bolsonaro entering the country. After media reports of a private plane at Iguazu International Airport on the Argentina-Brazil border, Argentine authorities inspected the aircraft and crew but found no flight plan listing the Bolsonaro family.
A spokesperson for Argentine President Javier Milei, who has not yet congratulated Lula on his victory, said, “There is no asylum request,” declining to provide further details.
A senior Brazilian Federal Police official said Bolsonaro has not left the country through any regular migration point. Brazilians can enter neighboring Argentina with an ID card rather than a passport.
Right-wing influencer Paulo Figueiredo, who serves as an unofficial spokesperson for the Bolsonaro family, declined to comment on Bolsonaro’s whereabouts.
“After months of intense work that has been unfairly thwarted, I am not in the mood to speak to the press,” he wrote in a message. “If I have any comments to make on any matter, I will get in touch.”
Eduardo Bolsonaro, the senator’s younger brother who lives in the United States, said prior to the election that an electoral loss would necessitate leaving the country.
“If my brother does not win, I’m in favor that he would leave the country,” he told podcaster Steven Crowder on October 23.
Another source close to Bolsonaro said they could not reach him.
“I tried to talk to Flavio this morning by phone,” they said. “It rang and it rang, but he didn’t pick up.”
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