Brazil's Flavio Bolsonaro reportedly heads to US despite travel ban after election defeat

Brazil's defeated presidential candidate Sen. Flavio Bolsonaro has reportedly left the country for the United States despite a judicial travel ban, with conflicting accounts of his whereabouts emerging Tuesday as authorities investigate a possible escape through Argentina.

Brazilian news outlet Globo cited sources close to Bolsonaro that it said confirmed he had left Brazil with his family, while official channels have not officially confirmed his departure or established his route.

The reports came after Brazil's Federal Police canceled Bolsonaro's regular and diplomatic passports Tuesday when he failed to comply with a court order requiring him to surrender the documents within 24 hours.

Supreme Federal Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes issued the order Monday, a day after Bolsonaro lost the presidential runoff to incumbent President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva.

The ruling also prohibited the 45-year-old senator from leaving Brazil.

The restrictions stem from an investigation into suspected money laundering and currency evasion involving financial transactions linked to attorney Willer Tomaz, an associate of Bolsonaro.

The senator is also under investigation in a separate case involving the financing of Dark Horse, a biographical film about his father, former President Jair Bolsonaro. Authorities are examining alleged payments connected to Daniel Vorcaro, the former owner of the now-defunct financial institution Banco Master.

Bolsonaro, who denies wrongdoing, said Monday that he had no intention of leaving Brazil.

"I have never thought about leaving the country. I will hand over my passports and defend myself against this travesty," Bolsonaro said, describing the judicial order as "a clear attempt to intimidate me."

He made the remarks after visiting his father, who is serving a 27-year prison sentence under house arrest in Brasilia.

Speculation about his whereabouts intensified Tuesday after Argentine media reported that he had crossed into Argentina by land using his national identity card and planned to board a private flight to Miami with his wife and daughters.

The reports centered on a Gulfstream G400 private jet, registered as LV-JQW and operated by Argentine charter company Baires Fly SA, which arrived at Puerto Iguazu airport near the Brazilian border from Buenos Aires late Monday.

The aircraft had been expected to depart for the US with four passengers and three crew members but remained on the ground Tuesday.

Argentine media reported that aviation authorities had withheld departure clearance over regulatory issues, while other reports indicated that the planned passengers never arrived and the flight was canceled.

However, Argentina's National Directorate of Migration said it had no record of Bolsonaro entering the country and that no flight plan had been submitted listing members of his family.

The agency said authorities had inspected the aircraft and its crew and found the company's documentation in order.

Brazilian federal police also found no record of Bolsonaro leaving the country through an official immigration checkpoint and began examining border crossings and flight records to determine whether he had departed.

Bolsonaro's campaign coordinator, Sen. Rogerio Marinho, initially denied that he had left Brazil, while his brother Eduardo, who lives in the US, dismissed the reports as a "lie."

Bolsonaro's reported departure comes two days after Lula defeated him in Sunday's presidential runoff to secure a fourth term in office.

The senator initially called for the election result to be annulled, although his Liberal Party has acknowledged Lula's victory.