Flavio Bolsonaro's escape to Miami via Argentina and its fallout
Brazilian senator and defeated presidential candidate Flavio Bolsonaro fled to the United States via Argentina, landing in Miami, after a Brazilian court ordered his passport seized amid a money laundering investigation. The escape triggered a 2.7% drop in São Paulo's stock exchange and prompted Argentine President Javier Milei's government to deny involvement. Argentine presidential advisor Santiago Caputo was identified by police in Misiones province traveling in a diplomatic-plated vehicle near Puerto Iguazú, where Bolsonaro's flight departed. US President Donald Trump called Brazil's elections a "disgrace" and confirmed his administration granted Bolsonaro entry, while Argentine officials stated the senator entered without restriction using his Italian passport. Bolsonaro, who faces a Brazilian court order prohibiting him from leaving the country, declared himself Brazil's "leader" in a letter and alleged electoral fraud. His brother Eduardo Bolsonaro reportedly orchestrated the escape plan with Trump administration contacts weeks before the election, and Argentine federal judge María Eugenia Capuchetti has opened an investigation into whether Argentine officials facilitated the departure.