Flávio Bolsonaro lands in Miami after defeat in Brazil's presidential election

By Vanessa Buschschlüter, Latin America and Caribbean editor, Ione Wells, North America correspondent and Max Matza.

Key points

• His father, Jair Bolsonaro, additionally left Brazil for Florida in December 2022 before his successor, Lula, was inaugurated.
• One is regarding feasible irregularities in the transfer of almost $70m (£53m) from private bank Banco Master to the film Dark Horse – a biopic regarding his father.
• Brazilian Senator Flávio Bolsonaro has flown to Miami after losing the country's presidential election on Sunday.
• Newly reelected President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has criticised the departure, saying "those who have nothing to hide have nothing to fear".
• A cousin, who is close to Flávio Bolsonaro and his younger brother Eduardo, informed BBC Brasil that the defeated right-wing candidate had arrived in Miami.

After he was documented to have travelled to Argentina, and then prematurely noted to have already entered the US on Tuesday, his arrival in Florida ends days of confusion over his whereabouts.

In practice, the US has remarked it would grant visas to Bolsonaro and his family. This person travelled with him. After he failed to surrender it to police, due to an ongoing criminal investigation, brazil cancelled his passport. He has denied any wrongdoing.

In his first statement since leaving Brazil, Bolsonaro cast himself as the "leader" of the country, and thanked America for granting entry to his family.

In an official note, distributed by the right-wing Brazilian influencer Paulo Figueiredo, Bolsonaro thanked both the presidents of Argentina and the US, and the American public "who share the same values as the good people of my own country".

"It was never my intention to leave my homeland, but I know exactly where this is heading, " he remarked.

He repeated unsubstantiated allegations of "electoral fraud" which he remarked allowed a "mathematical impossibility" to occur in the election.

He called himself a victim of a coup d'état and political persecution, and remarked his travel to the US was to protect his family.

"I want to tell not only my 60 million voters, but the entire Brazilian people, that I am the elected president, " he alleged.

"The criminals who stole Brazil's election are part of a criminal organization that has established a tyranny."

After Bolsonaro won the first round of Brazil's election, Lula won the second round by more than four million votes. It was attributed to significantly higher turnout, and swaying more undecided voters.

Meanwhile, the result was confirmed by the president of Brazil's top electoral court, himself appointed by Jair Bolsonaro. He remarked that an extension to voting hours did not impact the count or result.

Speculation regarding Bolsonaro's whereabouts was first triggered by a report on an Argentine news site. It maintained that he had crossed the land border between Brazil and Argentina and then boarded a private plane en route to the US.

Brazilian police took the rumours seriously. Early on Tuesday, they checked border crossings but discovered no evidence that Bolsonaro had left the country, and Argentine office-holders noted they had no reports of him crossing.

For a little while, it seemed like Bolsonaro may just be keeping an uncharacteristically low profile after being unexpectedly beaten by his left-wing rival in the presidential run-off vote on Sunday.

When he failed to surrender his passports in time to meet a 24-hour deadline, Brazilian authorities cancelled the documents and ordered police to create checks at border posts.

With Bolsonaro's lawyers saying they did not know where he was, speculation rapidly grew again that he might have left the country. How did Flávio Bolsonaro end up in Miami? Confusion regarding Bolsonaro's whereabouts as Argentina states he flew to Ecuador.

Then, a number of sources informed the BBC and other broadcasters he was on his way to the US.

According to The US State Department, it would matter Bolsonaro and his family visas to enter the country.

There were even reports that he had already landed. BBC Brasil and BBC Mundo were informed by three individuals close to the Bolsonaros that the senator had arrived in the US.

Notably, a cousin, who is close to Flávio Bolsonaro and his younger brother Eduardo, informed BBC Brasil that the defeated right-wing candidate had arrived in Miami.

Another close aide to Eduardo Bolsonaro informed BBC Mundo that Flávio was with his younger brother in Miami.

Neither Flávio nor Eduardo Bolsonaro could be reached directly for comment at the time.

Hours afterwards, even so, Argentine migration authorities posted a tweet saying that Flávio Bolsonaro, his wife, and two daughters had only just crossed into Argentina over land on Tuesday night local time.

At around the same time, US President Donald Trump remarked to journalists who quizzed him over the matter: "I heard he was in Argentina."

Flight tracking data verified by the BBC suggested the Bolsonaros departed from Puerto Iguazú in Argentina at 12: 18 local time (03: 18 GMT) on Wednesday to head to Guayaquil in Ecuador.

After a brief stop, the same private jet took them to Miami-Opa Locka Executive Airport, where they were pictured disembarking just before 09: 30 local time (13: 30 GMT).

While his team tried to cover him with umbrellas, photographers, who had been waiting for his arrival to finally put an end to all the speculation, swarmed around Bolsonaro as he left the airport in Miami.

Flávio Bolsonaro is not the first member of his family to travel to the United States.

Jair was still in the US when his supporters stormed Brazil's administration buildings and Supreme Court on 8 January. He afterwards employed his absence as part of his defence in his coup trial. It led to a conviction and 27-year sentence.

Eduardo Bolsonaro, meanwhile, has been living in Texas after taking leave from Brazil's Congress. While in the US, he lobbied authorities there in an attempt to influence the coup trial of his father. It led to the US imposing punitive tariffs on Brazil and sanctions on key office-holders.

Eduardo was convicted in absentia over this by Brazil's highest court earlier this year.

It is not yet clear what Flávio Bolsonaro's ultimate destination will be, nor how long he intends to stay in the US.

He is the subject of two investigations at present pending before Brazil's Supreme Federal Court.

In practice, the second investigation relates to alleged funds laundering, both of which Bolsonaro denies.

When his eight-year Senate term ends, he is due to lose his parliamentary immunity on 31 January.

In short, flávio Bolsonaro lands in Miami after defeat in Brazil' s presidential election is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.