The U.S. State Department will issue visas to Flávio Bolsonaro and his family to permit their entry into the United States, an administration official confirmed.
The decision comes after the Brazilian senator fled his home country following his defeat in Sunday’s presidential election to leftist incumbent Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, who turned 81 on Tuesday and received more than 64 million votes against fewer than 60 million for Bolsonaro.
“The State Department will issue visas to Flavio Bolsanaro and his family and allow them entry into the United States,” the administration official told The Post, using an alternate spelling of the candidate’s surname.
Bolsonaro, who was favored to win but lost in a shock result, departed Brazil with his wife and two daughters. His exit came just one day after Brazilian police demanded he surrender his passports amid investigations into corruption, money laundering and tax evasion. A senior Brazilian Federal Police official said he did not leave through any regular migration point.
The senator has not been charged and has denied any wrongdoing, claiming the investigations amount to political persecution. He has yet to officially concede defeat, stating on Sunday that he would seek the annulment of the result over alleged voter irregularities. However, his Liberal Party acknowledged Lula’s victory on Monday.
President Trump criticized Brazil’s election on Monday, saying: “It looked like another rigged election.”
Flávio’s father, former Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro, followed a similar path to the United States after refusing to concede his own loss to Lula in 2022. The elder Bolsonaro eventually returned to Brazil but was later handed a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup and is currently under house arrest.
Flávio, the eldest son, has worked in politics since finishing law school and was elected senator in 2019. He is widely seen as his father’s political heir. His brother, Eduardo Bolsonaro, already lives in the United States and maintains close ties to the Trump administration.
The family’s current location remains unclear.
Lula’s margin of victory was nearly 4 percentage points.