24-Hour Passport Deadline Lapses as Bolsonaro Leaves Brazil for US

In Brazil, Senator Flávio Bolsonaro has left the country for the United States after losing the presidential election on Sunday and not complying with a supreme court order to surrender his passports, according to two sources. The US embassy in Brazil did not respond to a request for comment, and Bolsonaro's lawyer declined to comment.

Bolsonaro entered Sunday's vote as the favored candidate but lost to leftist incumbent Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. On Monday, a supreme court order gave him 24 hours to hand in his passports as part of a money-laundering investigation. He denies wrongdoing in that case. Two sources said the deadline passed without him turning over the documents, which led to their cancellation.

A senior Brazilian Federal Police official said Bolsonaro has not exited the country through any regular migration point. Right-wing influencer Paulo Figueiredo, who serves as an unofficial spokesperson for the Bolsonaro family, declined to answer questions about Bolsonaro's location. "After months of intense work that has been unfairly thwarted, I am not in the mood to speak to the press," Figueiredo said in a message. "If I have any comments to make on any matter, I will get in touch."

Bolsonaro has not officially conceded the race. On Sunday he said he would seek annulment of the result over alleged voter irregularities. His Liberal Party said Monday it acknowledges Lula's victory. Eduardo Bolsonaro, his younger brother who lives in the United States, told podcaster Steven Crowder this month that a loss would require a move: "If my brother does not win, I'm in favour that he would leave the country."

Bolsonaro's father, former president Jair Bolsonaro, also went to the United States after refusing to concede his 2022 loss to Lula. He later returned to Brazil and received a 27-year sentence for plotting a coup.

The passports were cancelled after the deadline passed. No date has been set for Flávio Bolsonaro's return to Brazil.