Trump, Milei under pressure to explain Bolsonaro flight from Brazil

BRASILIA, Brazil (AFP)—United States (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 favorite.

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 recognized Lula's election victory and Trump said the poll was a "disgrace" and "very strange."

However, Lula's victory has been recognized 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.

- 'Difficult times' - 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.