Argentina's National Directorate of Migration said on Wednesday that Brazilian Senator Flávio Bolsonaro and his family briefly entered Argentina before boarding a private flight bound for Guayaquil, Ecuador, according to the flight plan filed for the aircraft.
Source: Reuters
The Associated Press, citing the Argentine migration authority, reported that Bolsonaro, his wife Fernanda Antunes Figueira Bolsonaro and his daughters Carolina and Luiza crossed into Argentina at 10:50 p.m. via the Tancredo Neves International Bridge, linking Brazil to Argentina's northeastern province of Misiones, and at 11:30 p.m. boarded a private charter flight operated by Baires Fly S.A. bound for Guayaquil.
Source: Associated Press via KCAU 9
The Argentine authority said those who entered possessed valid travel documentation and faced no legal impediment to entering the country, and that their transit was recorded without incident. AFP reported the same statement, noting it came despite a Brazilian court order banning Bolsonaro from leaving the country.
Source: AFP via Mwanza TV
A flight that contradicts the Florida reports
According to data from the Flightradar24 website cited by AFP, the flight took off just after midnight (0300 GMT) on Wednesday from the Argentine town of Puerto Iguazu. US media citing anonymous sources had earlier reported that Bolsonaro had arrived in the United States on Tuesday. The US State Department said it would issue visas to Bolsonaro and his family, but did not confirm their travel plans, AFP reported.
Bolsonaro, 45, lost Brazil's presidential runoff on Sunday to incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Brazil's Supreme Court banned him from leaving the country and ordered him to hand over his passports. A police source told AFP that Bolsonaro's Brazilian and diplomatic passports had been cancelled, but that the senator has held Italian nationality since 2023, according to an Italian parliamentary document seen by AFP.
Investigations and a diplomatic fallout risk
Bolsonaro is under investigation for alleged corruption and money laundering, and with his election loss he is also set to lose parliamentary immunity, AFP reported. The allegations have not been proven in court.
The Associated Press said the move is almost certain to cause a diplomatic rift between Lula and Argentine President Javier Milei, who travelled to Brazil to take part in Bolsonaro's campaign. Lula, who turned 81 on Tuesday, told supporters outside the presidential residence in Brasilia that he did not have precise information about Bolsonaro's whereabouts, but said he had left Brazil, AP reported.
What happens next will depend on whether Ecuador confirms his arrival, whether Brazil seeks his return, and how Argentina explains allowing the transit of a man under a Brazilian court exit ban. Awaaz Punjab will update this story as official confirmations arrive.